Avatar: The Next Generation
by hmweasley
Summary: Twenty years after the war, an insane Azula escapes from prison. How will it affect the Gaang's children when all they've ever know is peace and safety? Kataang, Maiko, and Tokka.
1. Prologue

A/N: I'm not very happy with the prologue. Hopefully, the rest of the story will be a lot better. This story will have Kataang, Tokka, Maiko, Ty Lee/Haru, Suki/OC, and OC/OC.

Disclaimer: Only the plot, Kaimu, and the kids belong to me. Everything else belongs to Mike and Bryan.

Avatar: The Next Generation

Prologue

I'm sure you have heard the story of Avatar Aang and his friends, so I will not retell it here. You might not know, however, that Avatar Aang is my father. Having the Avatar as a father can be stressful at times, but he is a great dad.

My mother, Katara, is also my waterbending teacher. She has taught me so much. Hopefully, soon waterbending master.

I am Kazuna by the way. At the age of fifteen, I am the oldest of eight kids. Kuuya is ten, Misoka and Nori are eight, Saki is five, Sugi and Toya are three, and Yuuga is one. Nori and Saki are both waterbenders like me, but the other five are airbenders. We live at the Southern Air Temple.

My Uncle Sokka and Aunt Toph have thirteen year old twins. Ichiko is five minutes older. She's my best friend. She isn't a bender, but she trains with the Kiyoshi warriors. Ikuo is an earthbender. He's not blind like his mother, but knows how to see with earthbending. They live on Kiyoshi Island.

My Uncle Zuko is the Fire Lord. Well, he's not actually my uncle, but that's what I call him. He and Aunt Mai have three kids. Ai is the oldest at sixteen and heir to the throne. She's also one of my closest friends. She's a firebender. Akatsuki is nine. He cannot bend, but is skilled with weapons like his mother. Akiyoshi is the youngest. He's five and a firebender. They live in the palace in the Fire Nation capital.

Another one of my closest friends is Ayame. Her parents are Aunt Ty Lee and Uncle Haru. She's twelve and trains with the Kiyoshi warriors just like Ichiko. They also live on Kiyoshi Island.

Ichiko has a crush on thirteen year old Hajime. His parents are Aunt Suki and Uncle Kaimu. They also have a nine year old daughter, Hamako, and live on Kiyoshi Island.

My live was pretty good. I had great friends and a wonderful family (although sometimes annoying). Little did I know that something was about to happen that would change my life forever.


	2. Azula's Escape

A/N: The first chapter! I began this in class about a week ago, but just finished it today. I'm sorry it took so long! I just started high school, so I've been getting used to that. This chapter's pretty short. Hopefully, the rest will be longer! Thanks Zenelia Sky for reviewing!

Disclaimer: Sadly, I do not own Avatar, but the plot and some of the characters are mine.

Chapter One

Azula's Escape

It was just a normal day at the Southern Air Temple. Kazuna was practicing her waterbending outside when she saw a shape in the distance.

"Mom, dad's back!" she yelled running towards Appa as he began to land. Her brother Kuuya who had been practicing airbending next to her, was right behind her.

Kazuna's mom came from inside carrying the youngest with the five other children behind her.

Aang was attacked by seven children almost before he had gotten off of Appa. He hugged all of them, and then took Yuuga from Katara. He hugged and kissed his wife causing the youngest boys to make disgusted noises.

"I have some pretty bed news," Aang directed his words to Katara, but talked loud enough for the children to hear.

Kazuna got a bad feeling in her stomach. She hoped it did not have anything to do with prejudice against the Fire Nation again. Over the years people had become less prejudiced against the Fire Nation citizens, but every once in awhile something would happen. About a year ago, a Fire Nation nobleman had been murdered on his way to Ba Sing Se. That was the last Kazuna had heard of hostility against the Fire Nation. She hated to think about what it had been like right after the war ended. Her mother seemed to be thinking the same thing.

"Did some Earth Kingdom citizens threaten any Fire Nation citizens again?" Katara's voice was tainted with fear.

"Not quite," Aang fidgeted nervously, "Azula's escaped."

Katara and the children stared at Aang in shock. Kazuna remembered being told stories about Azula as a little girl. Granted, they were normally told by her Uncle Sokka which mean that he had probably bent the truth just a little to make himself look better. She still knew that there was enough truth to the stories that Azula was a very dangerous person. A very dangerous person whose dream was to become Fire Lord.

Kazuna suddenly became anymore scared. Uncle Zuko, Aunt Mai, Ai, Akatsuki, and Akiyoshi were at the top of Azula's most hated list. Aunt Ty Lee and her father were probably pretty high on it too.

"What are you going to do?" Katara asked fearfully.

"We're going to the Fire Nation," Aang told her, "I stopped by Kiyoshi Island on my way home. Sokka, Toph, Suki, Kaimu, Haru, and Ty Lee are already on their way. Children, go back your things. I don't know how long we'll be gone, so pack as much as you can."

Kazuna turned to go to her room. She was scared, sad and happy all at the same time. Happy that she would get to see her best friends and family. Sad because she was leaving home and did not know for how long, but fear was the biggest emotion she was feeling. Just what would Azula do?

A/N: Thanks for reading! Please review!


	3. What's Going to Happen?

**A/N: Sorry this took so long. High school has been taking up pretty much all of my time, but I got a new laptop for Christmas and I'm uploading this from there. This chapter was actually written during my OLC class (Orientation to Life and Careers). I wrote it over a few different days. I finally typed it on the computer yesterday, and my dad finally got internet to work on the laptop so I'm uploading today. Hopefully, chapter three won't take this long. I'm already almost half done with it. Please review! I hope you enjoy it! **

Chapter 2: What's Going to Happen?

It was a long flight to the Fire Nation from the Southern Air Temple. Kazuna loved flying. She had always wished she had been born an airbender just so she could get a glider just like her dad's, but it was hard to enjoy when you were worried about a psychotic killer coming after you and your family and friends.

Eventually, they were landing in front of the Fire Nation Palace.

The Royal Family was waiting for them. Kazuna and her best friends, Ichiko and Ayame (who they had picked up at Kiyoshi Island), jumped off of Appa and ran to Ai. The four of them hugged. It had been a few months since they had all four been together.

"Remember, we're having dinner together at five o'clock!" Zuko yelled after the children as they ran off to play and catch up with each other.

"So, Ayame," Ai started suggestively as they walked to the turtle-duck pond, "How's your latest boyfriends?"

Ayame had a new boyfriend every couple of days. She was known as the biggest flirt on Kiyoshi Island.

"We broke up," Ayame answered, sounding genuinely sad, "I don't know how long we'll be here, and long-distance relationships just don't work. Who knows, maybe I'll meet a cute Fire Nation boy!" She cheered up as she said the last part. The others just rolled their eyes. They were used to Ayame's behavior. Although she was the youngest, Ayame had had more boyfriends then any of them.

Actually, neither Kazuna nor Ai had never had a boyfriend. Being the daughters of the Avatar and the Fire Lord generally intimidated most guys. It did not help that where Kazuna lived didn't exactly have a lot of guys unless you wanted to date your dad or brother!

"I'm sure you'll meet one soon," Ichiko rolled her eyes. She was normally the most annoyed with Ayame's behavior because she spent the most time with her.

When they got to the pond they sat down on the edge. "So, what's been going on here?" Kazuna asked curiously, "Other than Azula escaping I mean."

"Not much," Ai told them in a bored tone, "Another guy asked my dad for permission to marry me."

Just because she had never had a boyfriend , did not mean that plenty of guys had not tried to marry her. It annoyed her greatly. She had told her father she refused to marry someone she did not love and Zuko agreed with her.

"What's the story behind this one?" Ichiko asked.

"We met at some ball thing," Ai sounded disgusted as she told the story, "He said I was the hottest girl there, and I stomped on his foot. He told my father he thought we'd had a connection." We laughed.

"Well, this certainly sounds like a smart guy," Kazuna managed to get out while still laughing.

"I haven't even told you the best part," Ai struggled to hold back laughter, "He's eight!"

"Eight!?" Ichiko exclaimed as they began to laugh even harder.

"Did Uncle Zuko even take him seriously?" Ayame asked.

"When he came to tell me, he just looked shocked!" Ai laughed even harder as she remembered her father's face.

By this time, they were all laying on the ground unable to sit up, they were laughing so hard.

"I've ordered them to report anything they find as soon as possible," They were eating dinner together, and Zuko was telling Aang and the other adults all the information they had learned about Azula. It was not much.

"No one's been able to find anything," Zuko said incredulously, "I'm surprised. Azula's never had to sneak around before, but she's amazingly good at it."

"Well, there was that one time we disguised ourselves as Kiyoshi Warriors," Mai put in.

"That wasn't so much sneaking as pretending," Ty Lee contemplated.

"The whole Fire Nation, Earth Kingdom, and Water Tribes militaries are searching for her," Sokka said hopefully, "They've got to find something soon."

"Once they find out where she is, we have to capture her," Aang reminded them. It was obvious to everyone that he was worried. Katara wrapped an arm around his waist in an attempt to comfort him.

"Hopefully, that won't take long," Katara said.

"So, what's for dessert?" Sokka asked trying to lighten the mood.

"I'm scared," Ayame admitted later that night when she, Ichiko, Kazuna, and Ai had all gathered in Ai's room.

"We all are," Kazuna consoled her.

With the palace being as large as it was, Kazuna, Ichiko, and Ayame had all been given their own rooms, but they preferred to have a slumber party in Ai's room. Of course, with the situation what it was, it was not really a party exactly.

"I just hope they catch her soon," Ai drew her knees up to her chest and hugged them.

"You're all just a bunch of cry babies!" Ichiko rolled her eyes. She always tried to act tough, but the others knew she was just as scared as they were.

"Excuse me for being scared that my crazy aunt is going to kill me or someone I love," Ai snapped at Ichiko.

"Look," Kazuna told the others calmly, "We're all just a little stressed out. Let's go to bed and worry about it tomorrow."

They all layed down, but it took them a while to actually fall asleep. Even then, it was a restless sleep. Each one of them had nightmares of Azula that night.


	4. Useless

**A/N: I'm so sorry that I haven't updated in about 6 months! I was very busy with school and then Driver's Ed! Hopefully, I'll be able to update more often. I'm going to Washington D.C. Next week and hopefully, I can get some writing done in the car on the way there and back! Thanks to Lythya and avatargirl92008 for reviewing! I hope you enjoy the chapter!**

Chapter 3: Useless

"We have bad news, sir," a Fire Nation general was filling Zuko in on the news about the search for Azula. "We can't locate Azula. We've searched all over all four nations, even the Air Temples, and can't find a single clue as to where she may be."

"Well, search harder," Zuko ordered firmly. It had been two weeks since Azula escaped, and Zuko was getting more and more aggravated every day. "We're not going to give up until she's found."

The general bowed and left.

"What are we going to do?" Zuko rubbed his eyes tiredly as he expressed his concern to the others.

They all just looked at the table. None of them knew the answer to that question.

"I feel useless," Ichiko complained to her friends. "I feel like we should be doing something. Not just sitting here talking."

"What are we supposed to do?" Kazuna was always the most sensible one. "We're just kids. We're not even masters yet. We wouldn't be much help in a fight."

"We may not be masters, but we are good at fighting," Ichiko countered back. "We've been trained by some of the greatest benders and nonbenders in the world! I think we should help."

"Our parents would never let us fight," Ai reminded her. "They'd lock us up to make sure we couldn't do anything if we even suggested that to them."

"That's why we don't tell them," Ichiko smirked.

"You mean sneak around behind their back?" Ayame looked slightly confused. "That wouldn't work people would recognize us and tell them."

"That's why we wouldn't come back. At least not until this is all over," Ichiko noticed the other three's horrified expressions. "They'd find out, but they wouldn't be able to catch us."

"Uncle Zuko's the Fire Lord, and my dad is the Avatar," Kazuna reminded her. "I'm sure they could catch us."

"We'll have to be careful then," Ichiko looked thrilled with the idea.

"I don't like this idea," Kazuna knew nothing she could say would change her best friend's mind, but she tried anyway.

"Come on," Ichiko was running into the palace. "We have to figure out how we're going to do this!"

"I can not believe we're actually doing this!" Ai exclaimed in shock as the four girls sneaked through the palace grounds. "We're going to get caught, and then our parents will kill us!"

"Stop being so pessimistic!" Ayame scolded. "We'll be fine!"

"We're going to try and find my crazed, psychotic aunt, and you say everything is fine!"

"Will you two just shut up!" Ichiko snapped. "Someone will hear us if you're not quiet!"

"To late," Kazuna pointed to a shadow in the darkness. A shadow that was walking toward them.

"Shit! Run!" Ichiko took off running as fast as her legs would carry her and the others followed.

"Wait!" They stopped when they recognized Ikuo's voice.

"Ikuo, what are you doing?" It was obvious that Ichiko was very pissed at her twin.

"Following you guys."

"Well, not anymore. Go back," Ichiko ordered him.

"Why should I? I'm just as old as you and you're going to fight Azula."

"How do you know that's what we're doing?" Kazuna asked him. She didn't understand how Ikuo could possibly know what they were up to.

"Hajime and I were spying on you earlier."

"What!?" If Ichiko has been mad before, it was nothing to how furious she was now. "You little rats!"

"Who are you calling little!? We're just as old as you are!"

"Will you two just shut up?" Ai rolled her eyes, "Siblings arguing is very annoying!"

"We want to come with you."

"Um...Let me think...NO!" It was obvious that she did not want her brother or Hajime going with them.

"Why not? We're just as old as you, and we can both fight!"

"I don't see why they couldn't come with us," Ayame said rationally, "They would both be a huge help fighting.

"Sure, and while we're at it let's just invite Yuuga to come along too!" Ichiko said sarcastically, "I mean, after all he's an airbender. Who cares if he's only a year old!"

"Come on Ichiko, you're being completely irrational." Ai often had to step into these fights being the oldest.

Ichiko was silent for awhile. Eventually, looking like she was going to really regret it, she answered, "Fine. Go get your stuff. If you and Hajime aren't back here in 15 minutes, we'll leave without you. We're not getting caught just because of you two boneheads."

Ikuo ran to get his things and Hajime. Ichiko rolled her eyes and laid down on the ground. All while grumbling to herself about "stupid siblings."

The other three sat down next to her. They'd been sitting there for about ten minutes when a voice came from behind them.

"What are you four planning to do with all that stuff?"

They turned around and were horrified at who they saw.


	5. Ruined Plans

**A/N: Sorry it's been so long! Thanks to avatargurumaster and gloomy maiko lover for reviewing! Hopefully, the next chapter won't take so long. Not much happens in this chapter. I could have made it longer, and had more stuff happen, but I wanted to get it up quickly since it's been a month. At least it wasn't six months again! Hope you enjoy it!**

Chapter 4: Ruined Plans

"Dad!" Ai exclaimed as she turned around to see Fire Lord Zuko standing behind her. "We were just...I mean we were..."

"Were you four planning to run off?" Zuko asked sharply.

"Not just us four," Ayame mumbled under her breath, "Hajime and Ikuo were coming too."

Unfortunately, Zuko heard her. "You four come with me."

He turned and started to walk toward the palace. Zuko stopped two passing servants. "Notify all our guests and my wife to come to the meeting hall at once. Let all of the children sleep, except for Hajime and Ikuo. Have them come too."

"Yes, Fire Lord Zuko." They bowed and went to notify everyone who Zuko had ordered them to.

Zuko continued to walk toward the meeting hall with Ai, Ayame, Kazuna, and Ichiko trailing behind him. Ai, Ayame, and Kazuna all slightly frightened about just what their punishment was to be. Ichiko on the other hand was just pissed that they'd been caught. She was a little behind everyone else, and was walking with her arms crossed mumbling about how adults were all "stupid idiots."

Once they made it to the meeting hall, Zuko sat down at the head of the table. The children sat down farther down the table, leaving room for their parents to sit nearer Zuko. They wanted to be as far away from Zuko (and their parents for that matter) in case there was yelling.

It hadn't been that long before their parents started coming in. Aang and Katara were first. When they saw their daughter Kazuna they looked both confused and worried. Sokka and Toph were next with Ikuo, followed by Mai, Ty Lee, and Haru. Suki and Kaimu came in last with Hajime following behind them.

Ikuo and Hajime sat with the other children while the adults sat down near Zuko. "Let me guess," Hajime muttered darkly, "You four got caught."

"Shut up," Ichiko clearly wasn't in the mood to deal with anyone. She punched him in the arm as hard as she could without attracting attention from the adults. The longer it took for the adults to start yelling, the better.

"What's going on Zuko?" Aang was the first to speak up.

"I caught Ai, Kazuna, Ichiko, and Ayame trying to sneak out. According to Ichiko, Hajime and Ikuo were also going to sneak out."

"You rat!" Hajime whispered loudly to Ichiko while Ikuo shot her a dirty look. She just punched Hajime a second time and kicked Ikuo under the table.

"I can't say for sure what they were planning on doing," Zuko continued, ignoring the arguing. "But I have a feeling it had something to do with Azula."

All of the adults turned toward the kids clearly expecting an explanation. Kazuna opened her mouth, but before she could get a word out, Ichiko covered her mouth. "We're already in enough trouble. You don't need to add to it!" She whispered so the adults couldn't hear.

Kazuna pushed her hand away. "You don't even know what I was going to say!"

"Knowing you, you were about to confess to everything." Ai and Ayame muttered their agreement while Kazuna just looked guilty.

"They're going to figure it out anyway!" She said in her defense.

"How do you know?" Ayame asked, "And even if they do, the longer it takes them the better."

Finally, Ai turned to her father. "We couldn't sleep. We just decided to go for a walk."

"Along with a few sets of clothes?" Zuko, along with the rest of the adults, obviously were not buying it.

"We brought them just in case-" But the adults never found out what Ichiko's, probably rather elaborate and unbelievable, excuse was because at that very moment, a guard came running in.

He bowed in front of Zuko quickly then began speaking. "Fire Lord Zuko, sir. I'm terribly sorry to interrupt, but Azula has been spotted."


	6. A Change of Mind

**Author's Note: Sorry It's been so long! I know you probably don't care for any of my excuses, but I've been to both Washington D.C. For vacation and Georgia for my cousin's bridal shower since I last updated. I haven't had a lot of time to write! I go back to school this Wednesday. Once I start school, I obviously won't have as much time to write anymore. I'll write as often as I can though. **

**Something about the other chapters. When I type them on the computer, I always put something to separate the scenes, but for some reason it doesn't show up on here. I know it makes it difficult to tell when it switches scenes and it can get really confusing. I tried something different in this chapter, so hopefully, it'll work. If it doesn't then I'll have to figure out a different way to separate the scenes.**

**Thanks to gloomymaikolover for reviewing (Also thanks for sending me a message asking when I was going to update. Things like that motivate me to write more.), but sadly that's the only review I got. If you're reading this then please review. The more reviews I get the more I feel like writing because I know people actually care to read what I write. **

**I have a twitter account were you can follow me. My username is hmweasley there as well. It's great if you want to bug me to write. I don't think anyone following me actually reads my story (or is even an Avatar fan), but I do post when I'm writing, editing, and stuff like that on there. So, please follow me if you have an account. I need to be reminded to write every once in a while!**

**This chapter would have been up a little earlier, but wouldn't let me login earlier.**

**And I think that's it. That has to be one of the longest author's notes every written! Sorry for all the boring ramblings! Enjoy the story! **

**Disclaimer: I know I forgot to do one of these the past three chapters, but I'm sure everyone reading this knows exactly what belongs to Mike and Bryan. If you don't, then you should really go watch Avatar: The Last Airbender before you read any more of this. The awesomeness of Mike, Bryan, and the rest of the Avatar crew's work cannot begin to compare to mine.**

Chapter 5: A Change of Mind

"Spotted where?" Zuko asked at once.

"She's in the Fire Nation, sir," the guard continued, "She was spotted on a small, unnamed island a few hours away from Ember Island by boat."

"Tell both Admiral Tadashi and Admiral Susumu that it is their crews' job to capture Azula," Zuko ordered, "Remember, Azula has always been dangerous. Now, she's even more dangerous. She's not in her right mind. She won't act the way you remember her from when she was Princess of the Fire Nation. I want her captured if at all possible. They will only kill her if absolutely necessary"

"Yes, sir," the guard bowed and left.

The children were staring at each other in shock. They couldn't believe that their Uncle Zuko (or dad in Ai's case) had just talked about killing someone. Of course, he wasn't killing Azula, but they were shocked that he would even suggest it. Sure, they had all heard the stories and knew all about Zuko's troubled past, but they'd never actually been able to picture him trying to capture Aang. Aang and Zuko had been great friends for as long as any of them could remember.

"You six need to go to bed," Aang was the first adult to turn back towards the kids. "We'll talk about your punishments later."

They didn't need to be told twice. They all got up and headed to Ai's room to have a long discussion on what was going to happen to Azula and more importantly, if she was not captured, what were they going to do now.

***

"I still say we go anyway." Ichiko told the others as she laid on her back on Ai's bed.

"Why?" Kazuna asked cautiously. She hadn't really been thrilled to go in the first place. "I'm sure they'll capture her. What help would six kids be anyway"

"I've already said." Ichiko exclaimed exasperated. "We're not just any kids! We're some, if not the, best trained at fighting kids in the world!"

Kazuna wasn't convinced. "But we're still kids!"

"Will you two be quiet and listen." None of the children doubted that Ai would be a good leader of the Fire Nation when she was older. She was very good at getting people to listen to her. "We'll just wait and see if they're able to capture her and then decide what to do then. There's no use running away for nothing. All that will do is get us in a ton of trouble."

Ayame, Ikuo, and Kazuna all agreed. Ichiko and Hajime both looked like they wanted nothing more than storm out of the room and go after Azula themselves, but they reluctantly agreed. Even with their stubbornness, they weren't stupid enough to go after a crazy psychopath by themselves.

"Let's all just go to sleep." Ai stood up and started pushing them toward the door. "We'll find out what's going on with Azula tomorrow. We'll eavesdrop if we have to."

So, all the children went back to their beds. None really followed Ai's suggestion of sleeping though (not even Ai herself) they were all to busy thinking about what their parents were discussing and the horrors Azula was probably up to at that very moment.

***

"Good morning dad!" Kazuna greeted her father at breakfast the next morning. She was up incredibly early because she couldn't sleep, so of course her father and Momo, who was enjoying some fruit while sitting on Aang's shoulder, were the only ones up.

"Good morning Kazuna. Why are you up so early. That's unusual." When Kazuna had been younger, she had gotten up early with her father every day, but as she got older, she'd started sleeping in more and more. Now it was very rare that she was up before her mother came and told her it was time to get up. A lot of her siblings still got up early, but she was pretty sure her father had wanted some time to think about this Azula thing alone.

"Couldn't sleep."

"Because of Azula?"

"Yeah..."

"You shouldn't worry. Even if she's not captured now, she will be soon. You're not going to have to go through what your aunts, uncles, mother and I did when we were your age."

Kazuna started filling guilty about everything they had been planning. She knew all their parents wanted was for them to have a carefree childhood. The childhood they hadn't been able to have. Before she could think about it anymore, Aang continued.

"Which is why I'd like to know why you all that you'd sneak off like that. Why do you want to find Azula?" He stopped, thought for a second, and then continued speaking. "I guess I shouldn't say that. I know exactly why you did that. You think it would be fun, Hajime and Ichiko especially, I'm sure, but you're all still children. To young to be caught up in this."

"You were two years younger than me when you defeated Fire Lord Ozai."

"But there was no one else to do it. I had no choice. You do. Besides, I had my awesome Avatar powers." He smiled at her. That was her dad all right. Even in situations like these, he would still make a joke. "I just don't want you or any of your brothers and sisters getting hurt."

"I know dad." She leaned over to hug her father. She knew she would have to tell the others that there was no way she could go after Azula. She had always been a daddy's girl and she loved both her father and mother to much to hurt them like that. She didn't care what Ichiko or the others said. She wasn't going.


	7. A Scary Surprise

A/N: I know it's been four and a half months. My only excuse is school. I'm so proud that this chapter is actually a decent length though. I wanted longer chapters otherwise the first half of this chapter would have been up two or three months ago. There's a link to my blog in my profile where I often talk about my progress on this fanficion. Merry Christmas! Or whatever holiday you celebrate! Thanks gloomymaikolover for reviewing! Please review if you read the story. I'd even welcome a one word review! It's better than nothing. Enjoy the chapter!

Chapter 6: A Scary Surprise

"Um, Ai? Are you awake?" Kazuna had come straight to Ai's room after finishing her breakfast. She knew that Ai would be the most understanding and could then help her tell the others. Ai was easiest to tell because she wasn't as likely to jump in Kazuna's face and start yelling. Kazuna was not good with people when they were yelling. She preferred dealing with happy, smiling people.

"I am now." She managed to get out as she yawned. She sat up in bed and rubbed her eyes. "What is it?"

"I, uh." Kazuna stumbled over her words. "Promise not to yell?"

"Yell? Why would I yell." Ai seemed confused. Ai wasn't known to yell. She liked to handle things without it, so it really confused her when Kazuna mentioned it. It had to be something pretty bad if Kazuna was worried about Ai yelling.

"Well... I don't think I'm going to go anymore." Kazuna spoke so quietly that Ai had to strain her ears to hear her.

"Go to find Azula with us you mean?" Kazuna just nodded at Ai's question. She was scared to say anything more. Ai laughed.

"What's so funny?" Kazuna was confused. She had been so sure that Ai would be mad. Why was she laughing?

"Because, you were so worried I'd be angry, but I actually agree with you."

"Agree with me? Why?"

"I was a little bit wary of the plan from the start. You know how Ichiko gets. She gets so excited about something and she can get you so excited about it too, but then, when you think about it, you realize you don't actually feel the way you thought you did."

"I think I know what you mean. So, you never wanted to go?"

"At first I didn't think it was a good idea, but for a while I actually agreed with Ichiko. Then, last night when I was trying to fall asleep, I thought about it, and realized everything that's wrong with the plan. Plus, it wouldn't look good if the Princess of the Fire Nation runs away with her friends to go fight her evil aunt." Ai smirked as she said the last part.

Kazuna laughed at Ai's joke. "True," she agreed. "What do we tell the others."

"The truth. That we think it's a bad idea. I'll get dressed and then we'll go tell them. I'll be ready in just a minute."

***

"Fire Lord Zuko," Zuko looked up from his breakfast when he heard the servant address him. He was eating breakfast by himself. Aang had finished and went to meditate about ten minutes ago. "There's a problem sir."

"What is it?" Zuko hoped that it wasn't something about Azula. Maybe there had been some small crime in the capital or one of the servants was causing some problem. Unfortunately, this wasn't the case.

"Azula got away sir. They weren't able to catch her, but they think she was heading for the capital. She's probably already here."

"Call an emergency meeting. I want every officer and the Avatar there. Let Mai, Katara, Sokka, Toph, Suki, Kaimu, Ty Lee, and Haru know that there presence would be welcome as well."

"Yes sir." The servant bowed and left.

As soon as the servant was out of sight, Zuko dropped his head into his hands. He couldn't believe this was happening. There had been peace for so long, and now it had been broken. Not just by anyone, but by his sister. He had been able to avoid killing her last time, but some how, he didn't think it would be that easy this time.

***

"We need to talk." Ai had gathered her friends for a much needed meeting. She was a natural at speaking in front of people. Kazuna, however, was staring at her feet. She was best friends with Ichiko, but she couldn't help admitting that Ichiko scared her a little.

"What is it princess?" Ichiko didn't say princess in an honoring way, but more like it was the most horrible thing someone could be. "Please don't tell me you two are chickening out?"

"There's a difference between chickening out and knowing when when something is not a good idea." It was those words that had Kazuna deciding to let Ai do all the talking. She was better at it. Besides, now that Ai had basically said Ichiko's plan was a bad idea, Ichiko was going to be furious. Kazuna really didn't want to be on the receiving end of that.

"Yeah, there's a difference," Just as Kazuna had thought, Ichiko was absolutely furious, "But this isn't one of those cases! I can't believe you two are doing this! Fine! You two stay here and have a nice, safe time while we go fight some bad guys."

Ichiko started walking off, but all the others remained standing by Ai and Kazuna. After realizing this, Ichiko turned around. "Well, what are you waiting for? Are you coming or not?"

"Um, Ichiko, I'm not sure how to put this, but I don't think it's a good idea either." Hajime's agreement with Ai and Kazuna caused Ichiko to look heartbroken. It was one of the very few times when her crush became blatantly obvious. All the others chimed in their agreement, and Ichiko went from looking heartbroken to furious.

"Fine! I'll go by myself then!" She ran away before anyone could stop her. Hajime ran after her, but she was to fast. He collapsed on the ground about twenty feet away.

The others stood there in shock. They had no idea what to do. They swore it looked like Hajime was crying, but they'd never seen him cry before. What had they done? Ichiko could get killed! Maybe it would have been better to have gone with her. At least then, they would have stood a better chance. Ichiko was good, but how good was she compared to Azula?

***

"Stupid friends." Ichiko couldn't help the disgust in her voice at the word friends. Friends would have come with her. They would have helped her no matter how dangerous. Especially Kazuna her supposed best friend who hadn't even been brave enough to speak up to her.

And then there was Hajime. Her heart broke at the mere thought of him. She'd always hated boys her age. They were stupid, immature, and, well, stupid. She couldn't waste her time on such stupid things as romance and definitely not marriage. She'd told her parents this once, but they'd both said she'd grow out of it. She'd thought they were crazy, but then one day she'd been practicing fighting with Hajime just like any other day. She still wasn't entirely sure how it had happened. All she knew was that she had fallen asleep that night dreaming of him. Not that she'd ever admit it.

She'd been walking around fuming for awhile. She was already out of the Fire Nation capital. The few people still out and about at this hour had left her alone. Luckily, she hadn't been recognized. Why would a young girl with such important parents be wondering around the city alone at this time of night?_ Idiots._ She thought. _The world's full of them._

All of the sudden, she heard something up in a tree. She didn't know why, but it scared her. _Probably just some type of bird or something._ The last thing she needed was to get attacked by some wild animal. She really wished she was an earthbender and had the ability to see with the earth like her mother. Although, she didn't think even her mother could see what something in a tree was.

"Well, well, well. Look who I've found. You wouldn't happen to be the daughter of my dear friends Sokka and Toph would you?"

Ichiko had never heard the voice, but she some how still knew. Azula.

***

"Are we going to have to supervise you kids at all times!?" Becoming a mother had made Mai a lot more emotional. It was just impossible to hold in your feelings when your child was in danger. And that seemed to happen a lot with her kids. _This is what I get for marrying the Fire Lord. Then again, Azula would be a danger to my kids no matter who I married. Befriending her was the actual mistake._

"But mom, _we_ didn't run off!"

That may be true, but they almost did. Besides, a mother was allowed to overreact in these types of situations. She had to admit. Sokka and Toph were the ones who really deserved to freak out. Sokka looked terrified about his daughter. Toph however looked like she was ready to give Ichiko the punishment of a lifetime when She came back. If she came back... What a terrible thought.

"We need to come up with a plan." Aang was already thinking of possible ideas as he said this.

"A plan? There's no time for a plan! My daughter might die!" Toph was not a plan person. Especially not with her daughters life at stake. She was a quickly confront the enemy and cause them as much pain as possible type of person.

Sokka was conflicted. He was the plan guy of the group. He took pride in that, but right now he couldn't help but agree with Toph. They had no clue what would happen to their daughter. He knew they needed a plan, but every part of him was screaming to get to his daughter as quickly as possible.

"Toph," Aang spoke up. "I know you're scared about Ichiko, but we have a better chance of getting to her quickly if we have a plan. We don't know what Azula's going to do."

"Exactly!" Toph was yelling and had stood up from her seat. She looked like she was getting ready to earthbend Aang into the ground.

"Kids, I think you need to head up to bed." Katara stood up and pushed the kids towards the door. "And I mean actually go to bed this time."

***

Again not heeding the adults' advice, Ai, Ayame, Hajime, Ikuo, and Kazuna had gathered in Ai's room.

"I can't believe this is happening." This wasn't the first time Kazuna had voiced this.

"Neither can I." Nor the first time Ayame had agreed with her.

"I'm going after her." Hajime stood up abruptly and rushed out of the door.

"What!?" Ai scrambled after him. The others followed behind.

"She's in trouble, and I'm not going to sit around and wait for the adults to make their stupid plan. You can come with me or not. Your choice." He stopped walking and looked at them.

The others looked around at each other. They were going. This wasn't running off to fight for the heck of it anymore. Their friend was in trouble, and they were going to help her.


	8. The Race to Find Ichiko

**Author's Note: Finally! I've actually got done writing this chapter about a week ago but just got around to editing it tonight. I hope you enjoy it! Next chapter will have a fight scene! I'm kind of excited and at the same time scared to write it because I've never written a fight scene before especially with bending.**

**Also, if you haven't seen it. I posted a collection of one-shots that relate to this story. It's sort of like a prequel in a way, so if you haven't checked it out, you should. I've uploaded six, and I don't know if there will be more or not. My favorites are probably "Aw, Sibling Love," "Insults," and "Crushes." Anyway, enjoy the chapter!**

Chapter 7: The Chase to Find Ichiko

"Where are you taking me!?" Ichiko didn't get frightened often, but right now she was terrified. Azula had tied her up before Ichiko could even react. Ichiko had always thought she was a good fighter, but she learned otherwise when trying to fight Azula. Even deranged, Azula was a brilliant fighter. If she ever got out of this, Ichiko would train harder than she ever had before.

"Now, why would I tell you that?" Azula was smirking as she dragged Ichiko along. It pissed Ichiko off even more. "You don't tell your prisoner where your secret hideout is. That's just stupid. Then again, you wouldn't know that would you? You know nothing about these things."

It was as if Azula knew exactly what to say to make Ichiko mad. "I'm only a year younger than you were during the war. And a year older than my mom and Uncle Aang."

Azula rolled her eyes. "I know that, but, as you just said, that was during war. Things are very different during wars. You live during peace and are very sheltered. Besides, I was raised by Firelord Ozai. I was practically born to kill."

Ichiko had to admit that the way Azula said that freaked her out. She talked about killing so casually. She knew Azula was a sociopath, but she never realized that meant she was _this_ cold and unfeeling. Then again, she didn't really know what she had been expecting. She'd never met a sociopath before.

"Aw. Here we are." Azula stopped in front of a cave. "Home sweet home."

"You've been living in a cave?" Ichiko didn't know what she'd been expecting. Azula was on the run. It's not like she could be staying in some fancy hotel, but she knew from stories that Azula thought she was superior to everyone. Ichiko just figured Azula would feel a cave was beneath her. _Better than being captured though_, Ichiko thought.

"Not just caves." Azula explained. "You think I've been able to stay out of the hands of the Fire Nation by staying in one place? Of course not. Not even the _new _Fire Nation is that stupid. Still, in the days when my father ruled, I would have been discovered already. I always knew I was better suited for ruling the nation than dear old Zuzu." Azula had left Ichiko lying on the hard, rock-covered ground while she made herself comfortable (or as comfortable as you could in a cave).

"Zuzu?"

"Oh, that was my nickname for Zuko when we were younger. He hated it of course, but what are little sisters for?"

"Definitely not killing."

Azula's smirked widened. "Don't pretend to know anything about that matter. The right to rule is something you're born with. Zuko could have been a great ruler. If he hadn't gone all soft and sided with the Avatar. I deserve that throne. I am supposed to be Firelord. Zuko stole that from me. I want it back."

Azula just got scarier and scarier the longer Ichiko was with her. As Azula talked, her voice became more menacing. Ichiko could tell how much hatred Azula had for Zuko. "Why does ruling mean so much to you?"

"What a stupid question. Ruling means power, dear Ichiko. Power you could never in a million years achieve. The Fire Nation had power. We almost had the whole world until your diseased family took it from us. My father's now in prison and unable to bend. I was locked in a mental institution like I was some disgusting, crazy freak!"

Ichiko resisted the urge to tell Azula just how crazy she thought she was. She knew that would be a very bad idea.

"Your family, including my brother and uncle, deserve to be brought down and trust me. They will be."

The way Azula said this almost made Ichiko believe her. It may have only been Azula against practically the whole world, but it was obvious that Azula was determined and really believed she could do it. Ichiko knew that, when you believed in something, anything was possible. They would just have to believe harder than Azula.

"We need food." Azula stood up and made her way out of the cave. She called back, "Wouldn't want you to starve now would we?"

"Ayame, how much longer are you going to take?" Ai was standing outside of Ayame's room with the others behind her. Everyone had been packed for a while, but Ayame had apparently decided to take her sweet time.

"Seriously," Ikuo rolled his eyes as he leaned against the wall, "What are you packing?"

"Oh, just a few things," Ayame answered through the door. Finally the door opened to reveal Ayame with three huge bags in her arms.

"What?" Ayame couldn't figure out why the others were staring at her as if she'd grown an extra head.

"Ayame," Kazuna spoke up first, "You do realize you're going to have to carry your own things right?"

"Oh," Ayame got a thoughtful look on her face. "I didn't think about that."

"Obviously," Ikuo muttered just loud enough for the others to make it out.

Ayame just looked at her bags. You would have thought they were telling her she had to die right then and there.

"What about my make up?"

"We're going on a rescue mission and you're worried about make up?" Ikuo looked at her in disbelief.

"You always need to look your best!"

"I'm sorry to interrupt," Hajime, who had been standing farther down the hall the whole time, snapped. He was slowly moving farther and farther away from the group. "But in case you all have forgotten, Azula currently has Ichiko captive. I don't know about you guys, but I'd prefer to get to her before she's dead!"

The others just stared at him in shock. Hajime wasn't the type to lose his temper like that.

"We're coming." Ai pushed the others down the hall. She stopped in front of Ayame. "Which bag has clothes?" She shoved the bag Ayame pointed at into her arms, threw the other bags into Ayame's room, and shut the door. Ayame didn't even protest being pushed away from all of her precious "necessities."

Everyone in the palace was obviously preoccupied with trying to save Ichiko because the children encountered no one as they walked off the palace grounds.

"I can't believe we made it this time!" Ikuo was thrilled. He was running around everywhere and even did a little dance.

Hajime's temper was running very short even with his best friend. "Ikuo, your sister has been taken captive by a crazed lunatic, and your dancing around and cheering!?"

"Calm down, Hajime." Ikuo didn't seem that worried about his sister. He just rolled his eyes at Hajime. "She'll be fine."

Hajime looked like he was about to attack Ikuo until Ai stepped in. "Knock it off you two! Fighting won't help anything! We have to focus on finding Ichiko."

"I completely agree," Kazuna said, "Just one problem. How are we supposed to find her?"

"Kazuna, honey, it's time to get up." Katara walked into her daughter's room only to find an empty bed. She stood there in shock for a minute until she began running towards the dining hall were the other adults were gathered for breakfast. "They're gone! I can't believe it! They're gone!"

Aang jumped up and ran towards his wife, "Katara, what happened?" He put his hands on her shoulders and looked her in the eyes.

"I went to Kazuna's room to wake her up and she was gone! I assume the others went with her." By now Katara was in tears. Aang pulled her close and tried to stop his own tears from flowing.

The other adults just stared at each other in shock. Ichiko missing had been horrible enough, now they had five more children to worry about.

"When they get back I'll kill them." Toph's fists were clenched. "How did I raise such stupid children." Sokka decided now probably wasn't the best time to point out to Toph that she probably would have done the exact same thing if she'd been in either of their children's positions. He was worried about enough right now. He didn't fancy having an injury as well.

"I'll gather people to look for them." Zuko stood from his chair. "And I believe the planning is over. I don't know about you guys, but I'm going to find my daughter."

"Guys, come look at this." Ty Lee was leaning over something on the ground. They'd only been traveling for one day, but they'd expected to have found the children already.

"What is it?" Mai asked her friend.

"It's a piece of cloth. It's pink. In fact, it's the same shade of pink that Ayame usually wears."

"That means they were probably here," Aang said.

"Maybe we should split up," Katara suggested. "We'd be more likely to find them.

"That's not necessary," Zuko said causing the others to look over at him with questioning expressions. "I know they're this way," he said pointing north.

"And just how exactly do you know that?" Katara answered with her hands on her hips. She was beginning to get irritable. She just wanted her daughter safe.

"Simple, someone's been burning patches of tree bark and plants." Zuko pointed toward a tree with some of it's bark burnt off.

The others just stared in amazement.

"How the hell did we all miss that?" Sokka's mouth was hanging open in disbelief.

Toph rolled her eyes. "How did I become friends with such idiots," she muttered to herself while rolling her eyes. If Toph wasn't blind, she definitely would have realized this a day ago.

"But that could mean three different things." Katara said with a contemplative look on her face. "It could be Ai and they actually want us to find them. It could be Azula, and she's trying to lore us into a trap. Or, it could have been done by some random firebender."

"I guess we're about to find out," Aang said leading the way.

"This sucks. It's been over a day. Not to mention the fact that I look like crap from having to sleep on the cold, hard forest floor last night and not having any makeup, and don't even get me started on all of those disgusting bugs that I know were crawling on me all night!"

"Ayame," Hajime said through his teeth, "Do us all a favor and shut the hell up!"

Hajime and Ayame continued to bicker while the others just ignored them. It had been really easy to tick Hajime off ever since Ichiko had disappeared, but he was really pissed off at Ayame. Ayame cared about her friend but was definitely not cut out to rough it in the wild. All Ayame had done since they had left the palace was rant about how much she hated nature and how important her beauty products were.

"Guys, arguing isn't going to help anything." Ai was getting a little tired of always being the one to step in and separate the fights. "We have to work together if we want to find Ichiko."

Ai was trailing a little behind the others. Every so often she'd shoot a bit of fire at a tree or plant. The others may be fine with getting killed, but she at least wanted someone to be able to find their bodies once they were dead. She didn't think they'd be found before they found Azula anyway. Their parents were too preoccupied with finding Ichiko to even notice they were gone.

"Hey guys, look at this." Kazuna was pointing to an area on the ground were an obvious struggle had taken place. The plants were flattened, and it looked like someone had been dragged. Kazuna was just thankful there was no blood.

"It could have just been some animals," Ikuo said after a few moments of silence.

"Or, you know, a crazy sociopath could have found a little girl and bound her up and dragged her off." The children froze. They turned around to see Azula standing against a tree with her arms folded and a creepy smirk on her face.

"You children have absolutely no idea how to remain hidden do you," she continued while rolling her eyes. "I had hoped it would at least be a little challenging. I mean, I didn't even have to look for you. I just stumbled upon you on accident."

"You haven't even fought us yet!" Ikuo exclaimed.

"Dear boy, it won't be a fight."

"It's five against one!"

"But I'm a master firebender. You're just children."

"We're the same age you were during the war," Hajime barked at her.

"But no where near as talented, and that makes all the difference."

"We'll see about that!" Hajime grabbed his knife and ran at Azula. Azula's smirk grew even larger. This would be fun.


	9. Scared and Worried

**Author's Note: I'm currently sitting in a car driving through Tennessee as I write this author's note. We're going to Florida! That's not important. This chapter was written at home, but I'm editing it in the car. I won't have Internet until tomorrow, so I'll try to get it up then.**

**This chapter is shorter than I'd like it to be because it was difficult to write (except the last scene which came really easily). The first scene of this chapter was the first fight scene I've ever written. It was really difficult, so I kind of changed it around. Hopefully it's not that bad.**

Chapter 8: Scared and Worried

Hajime's advance toward Azula was quickly stopped when a wall of flames came up in his path. He jumped back just barely saving himself from being burned. Kazuna used the water from her pouch to drown most of the flames, but was unable to put out all of them.

"You're clearly not up to your mother's level yet are you?" Azula smirked at Kazuna. She began advancing toward the young waterbender. Kazuna instinctively backed away. She knew she stood no chance against Azula.

Ikuo jumped in front of his cousin while manipulating the earth into a wall in front of him. He stood in a fighting stance facing Azula.

"Really," Azula rolled her eyes, "It's pathetic how you actually think you stand a chance."

Azula casually began walking forward toward Ikuo and his wall of earth. Then, out of no where, Azula suddenly had Ayame pinned to the ground and her arms tied.

"Foolish girl," she spit at Ayame, "Thought you could sneak up on me. You have so much to learn."

The other children looked at each other with looks of horror on their faces. They didn't need to say anything. They all knew they were doomed.

"Aang, what is it?" Katara asked after running into her husband who had stopped walking out of no where. He had been leading the group of adults through the woods following the trail that may or may not have been left by their children.

"Look," Aang said as he stooped down and picked something up off the ground. He held out his palm, so the others could see the coin in his hand. "This is Water Tribe money."

"Kazuna," Katara gasped.

"It looks like there was a fight," Sokka said as his eyes roved around the area. "Some of the plants are flattened, and there are more scorch marks here. These have to be from a fight."

"They must have found Azula," Ty Lee's eyes were beginning to overflow with tears.

"Not necessarily," Suki gently put her hand on Ty Lee's shoulder to comfort her, but she didn't sound too convinced of her own words.

"If Azula did beat them," Mai said, "How did she manage to take all of them with her? She couldn't have carried all of them by herself. They can't be..." She trailed off, unable to finish the horrible idea that had come to her mind.

"They're not dead," Zuko actually looked convinced of this. He wrapped his arms around his wife, and she laid her head on his shoulder. "Azula would have had to do something with the bodies. Plus, I don't see any blood which is a good sign."

They were all beginning to look a little sick. Horrible thoughts were going through their heads. What could Azula have done to their children?

"Seriously?" Ichiko exclaimed as she saw Azula bringing her friends into the cave. "All five of you together couldn't stop her?" In actuality, Ichiko wasn't surprised. She knew better now then to doubt Azula's abilities, but she was still pissed at her friends for what they'd done.

"Shut up Ichiko," Hajime growled at her, "You're the reason we're in this mess. The least you could do is be grateful."

"It's not my fault you guys are idiots and came alone."

"Last time I checked, you came _completely_ alone. Remind me again, who's stupid?"

"You-"

"Enough!" Azula had had enough of the two children's arguing. "If you two keep that up you'll really regret it. I'm not opposed to torture."

The children stared at her with wide, terrified eyes.

"What do you want from us?" Ai asked, "Why don't you just kill us?"

"Because you have information that is useful to me."

"What information do we have that could possibly be useful to you?" Ikuo asked.

"You spend a lot of time at the Fire Nation palace and other important places. Ai's going to become Fire Lord someday. You know that you have information that could be useful to me."

"Even if we do," Ikuo said disgustedly, "We'd never give it to an evil bitch like you!"

"Oh dear boy," Azula smirked, "You'll give it to me. It's just a matter of whether you'll give it to me willingly or not."

"We would die before we'd tell you anything," Ichiko spat at Azula.

"We'll see about that," Azula's smirk grew larger, "I'll give you the night to mull it over. We'll see in the morning if you're still reluctant. If so, I'll have to use some of my favorite methods of torture." Azula walked off towards the entrance of the cave, leaving the children virtually alone.

"Favorite methods of torture," Ayame whimpered, "What kind of person has a favorite method of torture?"

"Monsters," Ai said.

Kazuna was suddenly aware of the tears falling down her cheeks. She looked at her friends. She wasn't the only one crying. Ayame had tears streaming down her face, and Ai looked like it was taking all of her will power to not collapse into sobs.

"What are we going to do?" Kazuna whispered to her friends. She wasn't sure why she wasn't able to make her voice louder. It didn't really matter if she spoke louder. She was sure Azula couldn't hear them, but her voice refused to do more than whisper.

"There's nothing we can do," Ai lowered her eyes to the ground. "We're just going to have to hope we'll be found before Azula tortures us to death."

"Guys," Kaimu spoke up, "I think we need to stop for the night. It's gotten dark, and we need our rest."

"Kaimu's right," said Aang, "We'll stop here. We'll take turns keeping watch. I'll go first."

"I'll stay with you," said Katara, "It'll be better to have two pairs of eyes."

The others found the softest places on the ground and tried to clear their minds. They had been in a rush and hadn't thought to bring sleeping bags. They'd been hopeful that they'd find the children in one day anyway. Aang and Katara found a log that could make a comfortable bench, or at least as comfortable of a bench that a log could make. They sat turned away from each other, so they could see more of the area. Their eyes were constantly alert, scared that they'd see Azula and hopeful that they'd some how spot their daughter and the other children.

"I can't believe this is happening." It was the first time Katara had spoken during the hour her and Aang had been keeping watch. Aang was pained to hear tears in her voice. He turned to his wife and wrapped his arms around her. She laid her head on his shoulder.

"It'll be alright," Aang said trying to comfort her. He knew he wasn't being very convincing. Katara would see right through his fake assurance. In truth, we was as scared and worried as she was.

"Don't lie to me Aang."

"Okay, I won't, but really, Katara, we'll do our best to find them. We'll find Azula, and it'll be all of us against just her. We'll be sure to win.

"But what if they're dead before we get there," she whispered quietly. Aang knew that this thought had crossed everyone's mind, but Katara was the first person Aang had heard actually voice it.

"I don't know, Katara. I don't know." He would have liked to have been able to say something that would have made Katara's, and his own, pain go away, but he couldn't. He had no idea what was happening to his daughter, his niece and nephew, and the other children. He could only hope, just like Katara and the others, that they were still alive.

Aang and Katara hadn't realized that their conversation wasn't a private one. Only a few of the adults had been lucky enough to find sleep.

Zuko, in particular, was unable to let the darkness overtake him. He had failed to protect his daughter. In his mind, that made him almost as horrible of a father to his daughter as Ozai had been to him. Sure, he hadn't branded his daughter using fire as Ozai had done to him, but he hadn't protected her. To him, that was almost as horrible.

He remembered when Ai was born. He had promised her that he would be a better father than his own had been. I knew she couldn't remember it, she'd only been a few minutes old, but Zuko had taken that promise very seriously. He'd always tried to be the best father to his kids that he could be. It had worried him at first. How could he possibly know how to be a good father when he had never had a good father as an example. It had taken a long conversation with his uncle Iroh to convince Zuko that he might actually make a decent father, and he had actually thought he was doing a decent job until this. He wouldn't blame Ai if she hated him after this.

**Author's Note: I hope everyone enjoyed the chapter. I may be able to get another done on vacation. There's not much to do while sitting in a car. We'll see. Who knows, it may be done by the time you're reading this. Next chapter will feature my first torture scene. We'll see if that's easier than the fight scene.**


	10. An Unexpected Journey and a Discovery

**Author's Note: It hasn't even been a month since my last update! Hopefully, I'll be able to keep this up. Enjoy the chapter!**

Chapter 9: An Unexpected Journey and a Discovery

Kazuna woke up in a very uncomfortable position the next morning. She turned her head to find that she was half on top of her cousin Ikuo and had somehow oddly twisted her body in her sleep. She moved a lot in her sleep she knew. Apparently, that wasn't a good thing to do when your hands and feet were bound.

It took Kazuna a few seconds to figure out what had woken her. Despite her uncomfortable position, she didn't think that was what had woken her. Then she heard the cold, mocking voice. "Wakey, wakey children." Azula still had that stupid smirk on her face. Did that damn thing ever leave her mouth?

"So," Azula continued, "Have you considered telling me everything?" Kazuna didn't believe she was a violent person. She usually left the violence to her cousins, but right then, she wanted nothing more than to rip that stupid smirk off of Azula's face.

"No," Ai spoke for the whole group, "There's nothing to consider. We're not telling you a damn thing."

The smirk just grew larger. "Very well then. If you want to be tortured, it's all right by me. In fact, I'll quite enjoy it."

Kazuna could feel the tears coming again. She'd never thought of herself as a strong person. It had always made her feel like a disappointment really. Everyone in her family was strong and brave, except her. She wasn't quite sure how genetics had messed that one up.

It was as if Azula could sense this weakness in her because Kazuna was the first one Azula turned to. "I think the Avatar's daughter should get the honor of going first."

Kazuna's breath caught in her throat. She was going to break, she knew it. She didn't want to. Why would she want to endanger her family? But she was weak.

"What do you even want to know?" Kazuna could barely even hear her own question, so she was surprised when Azula answered her.

"Let's start with something simple," Azula said, "Why don't you tell me if the Fire Nation is looking for me."

"The whole world is looking for you," Kazuna didn't see the harm in answering this question. "They know you're in the Fire Nation though." Kazuna admitted to herself that she wasn't quite sure if she should have told Azula this or not. What were the limits of what you could and could not tell the enemy?

"That was a good start," Azula even slowly applauded a few times, "I already knew the answer of course, but you've proven that you can be cooperative. Keep that up, and you'll be fine. Now, Ai, I have a question for you. You're already beginning to get ready to take the throne, correct?" Ai just nodded her head. "That means you can answer a few questions I have about the inner workings of the Fire Nation."

"No," Ai spat.

Azula smirked yet again. "No, you don't know, or no, you won't tell me."

"No, I won't tell you."

"Stupid girl!" Azula was in front of Ai so fast that she appeared to have traveled faster than humanly possible. She grabbed Ai's forearms and gripped them tight. Ai's face contorted in pain. She looked to have been in too much pain for it to just be because of how hard Azula's grip was. Then, Azula pulled away. The other children could see the bright red marks on Ai's arms. Ai had begun to sob, and there were blisters forming where Azula had gripped her. Ai suddenly began screaming and gripping her arms to her body. Ikuo was struggling with his bonds trying to get closer to her so he could help, but it was useless. He couldn't get out of the bonds no matter how hard he tried.

"Now children," Azula's smirk was wider than ever, something Kazuna would have thought of as impossible. "Have we learned our lesson?" Ai just continued to scream and cry while the other children stared at Azula in terror. "Don't worry," Azula continued, "I won't kill you. Then, you wouldn't be useful as bait. Now, are you going to tell me what I want to know?"

**xxx**

The adults set off in the morning, still following the faint trail that they prayed led to their children.

"How far could she have possibly taken them?" Sokka asked the others, "She couldn't possibly have taken five children that far."

"I don't know," Zuko spoke up, "This _is_ Azula we're talking about. If she wants something done, she'll find a way."

"Way to cheer us up, Zuko," Toph said sarcastically as she rolled her eyes.

"Sorry, but it's the truth. I don't think this is a good time to be lying to ourselves."

"Zuko's right," Aang said, "We need to be prepared for the worst." Aang looked at the ground as he said this. Katara could tell he was in pain. She reached out to him and took his hand, giving it a comforting squeeze.

All of the adults were silent now. They drifted into horrible daydreams of the horrible things Azula could be doing to their children. They seemed to be doing that a lot lately.

"But Sokka does have a point," Aang finally continued, "Azula probably isn't that far from here. We should probably be quieter, just in case. We want to sneak up on her, not the other way around."

The others nodded, and followed him along the trail. Hopefully, they'd catch up to Azula soon.

**xxx**

The adults heard the bird before they saw it. There were many animals in these woods though, so they didn't pay the hawk that much attention until it landed on Zuko's shoulder. It was only then that they realized it was a messenger hawk. Zuko glanced at the others. _What could this letter possibly be about? _He prayed it was good news.

"There's trouble in the capital," Zuko informed the others once he had finished the letter.

"Is it Azula?" Suki asked anxiously.

"No," Zuko shook his head, "Not directly at least. There seems to be a problem with the Earth Kingdom. They're not happy about how we're handling Azula's escape." He began to write a quick response back before sending the bird back to where it had come from.

"Idiots," Sokka muttered lowly before continuing in a normal volume, "They're still holding a grudge from the war. They know you're doing as much as you can. I'd like to see them do any better."

"Even so," Zuko said, "I still have to deal with this. They want me back at the capital as soon as possible. The Earth King sent representatives who wish to speak to me. You guys need to continue looking for the kids. I'll go back on my own."

"No," Aang disagreed, "I'll go with you. It's my job to make sure all of the nations get along. The others are more than capable of finding and defeating Azula on their own."

Zuko nodded in agreement. "All right then. Aang and I will go together. Will you guys be alright on your own?"

"Of course we will," Mai assured her husband while she leaned up to kiss him goodbye. "It will still be eight against one. That's not even a fair fight really. It'll probably be dreadfully boring."

Zuko smiled at his wife and turned to leave with Aang who'd just finished saying goodbye to Katara.

"If you're not back by the time this is settled," Zuko called to the others as he and Aang began their way back to the capital. "We'll come back for you."

They had a long trip ahead of them, but it wouldn't go quite like they expected.

**xxx**

"Is that what I think it is?" Suki asked the others.

"It's a cave," Ty Lee said with excitement, "The trail ends at a cave!"

"Ty Lee!" Mai snapped quietly, "Shh! Azula cold be in there and hear you!"

"Whoops," Ty Lee whispered, "Sorry."

Mai just rolled her eyes at her friend. It was a wonder their friendship had lasted this long. Ty Lee could really get annoying.

"What are we going to do?" Suki asked. It was really a wonder that they'd spent all that time walking and not once had they discussed a plan. They'd been too preoccupied with worry for their children.

"I think we should sneak up on her," Sokka said. He instantly went into "Plan Guy" mode. "We might be able to get her before she even realizes we're there."

"That is assuming she's even in the cave," Katara said, "She might have left and taken them somewhere else."

"It's possible," Sokka told his sister, "But we shouldn't count on it. It's not like we should assume that she just went out for a nice stroll and left the children there by themselves."

"Well," said Toph with annoyance, "If you two would shut your mouths, we could find out."

"Right," said Sokka, "Come on everyone and remember to keep quiet."

**xxx**

Aang and Zuko hadn't been traveling for long, maybe an hour at the most. They were hurrying through the forest as fast as their legs would carry them. They wanted to get this business at the capital over with so they could go back to what was really important: their children.

"Well, who do we have here. You two have no idea how long I've waited to see you." The voice seemed to come from no where. They recognized it though. How could they not. The cold tone could only belong to one person.

Suddenly, Azula dropped down in front of them. She'd apparently been up in the trees.

"Zuzu," Azula addressed Zuko using her childhood nickname for him, "It's been so long. Any luck finding mother?"

"How did you-" But Azula didn't let Zuko finish.

"It's not that difficult to figure out you'd go looking for your mommy," Azula rolled her eyes, "You always were a mommy's boy. That's probably what made you so weak."

"You think I'm weak?" Zuko asked his little sister in disbelief. "Remember what happened during our Agni Kai?"

"I remember you having the help of a stupid Water Tribe girl to defeat me." Azula smirked when she noticed the Avatar clinch his fists when she insulted the girl. "How is she?" She asked, now addressing Aang.

"Like you care," Aang spat.

"Actually, I do. It's always good to have information on you enemies."

"Where are our children?" Zuko asked in a menacing voice.

"They're alive," Azula said casually, "They're also very stubborn. Didn't want to cooperate. I had to use a little torture."

Zuko and Aang gasped which only caused Azula's smirk to grow larger.

"As I said," she continued, "They're alive. They still have information though. I'm afraid I'll be needing to keep them for a while."

She smirked again as Aang and Zuko began to attack at exactly the same time. _Finally_, she thought, _some real fun._

**Author's Note: I'd really like to hear what you guys thought of the chapter. Constructive criticism is always good. I especially want to know what you guys thought about the torture scene at the beginning. It's the first time I've ever written anything like that. Are you guys wondering about Ursa now? I'm not entirely sure if that's going to be a big deal in this story or not. Do you guys want it to be? I may make a poll...**

**Thanks to Kimjuni2 and gloomy maiko lover for reviewing last chapter! I wonder how many people read this because there are always so few reviews. I wish I could come up with something nice to do for the people who actually review...**

**Oh, and one more thing. I've always put some sort of break between the scenes, but once I upload the chapter, they're always gone. I don't know why. I tried something different this chapter, so I hope it works.  
**


	11. Reunion

**Author's Note: A new chapter, and it's only been a little over a week! I can't believe it. I really hope I can keep this up for a while. Enjoy!**

Chapter 10: Reunion

Aang was using all of his willpower to keep from collapsing. It may have been two against one, but Azula was putting up a fight. Aang could tell that Zuko was as exhausted as he was, but Azula was still smiling and looked like she could fight for a lot longer. They were going to have to defeat her soon, or they were screwed.

"What's wrong?" Azula taunted, "Worn out already? I'm just getting started."

"How are you able to do this?" Zuko asked his sister in disbelief, "You've been in a mental hospital for years. You haven't been able to train. You should be worse than before, not better!"

"Those _doctors_," she said the word with utter disdain, "Are idiots. Clueless. It was easy to do things behind their backs. You disappear for a few hours, and then let them find you in a closet or something. You're supposed to be insane. They don't question it."

Aang was confused now. "But you couldn't have gotten out of the hospital. Where did you go?"

"The hospital grounds were quite easy to get to, and had several good places that were perfect for training and out of sight."

The three benders continued to circle each other during this exchange. They were just waiting to see who would make the first move. It was giving Aang and Zuko a little bit of time to regain some of their strength. Aang had even begun debating if he should use the Avatar state. He'd only used it a few times since the end of the war. He didn't like relying on it's power.

"It's a little sad isn't it," Azula continued, "A supposed crazy girl able to hold her own against both the Fire Lord and the Avatar at once? I always knew I deserved the title of Fire Lord more than you, Zuzu." At this last comment, she looked snidely at Zuko and wrinkled her nose.

As soon as Azula's attention was on Zuko, Aang used the moment to access the Avatar state. He's eyes glowed for just a second. By the time Azula looked back at him, they were their usual gray again. Azula had no idea what had just happened.

"Now," Azula got into a fighting stance, "Are we going to actually fight, or are we going to stand here chatting all day? It would be nice to catch up, but I have plans."

"I hope those plans involve jail," Aang growled at her.

Azula's ever present smirk widened. "Unfortunately, they don't."

The fighting continued. This time, Aang and Zuko were winning with the help of the Avatar State. Azula realized this too. She decided to take action before they got the better of her.

"As I said before," she called after blasting fire at the both of them, "I have plans, and I really am running late. We'll have to do this again sometime."

She blasted fire at them once more. Zuko and Aang guarded themselves from the hot flames, but it had given Azula the distraction she needed. Once the flames were gone, Zuko and Aang looked to where Azula had been standing just seconds before.

"She's gone," Zuko whispered in shock, "How could she possibly have gotten away that quickly?"

"It wouldn't be the first time," Aang said remembering back to when he was twelve, and they'd fought Azula in an abandoned Earth Kingdom town.

"We have to go after her," Zuko said, "We can't let her get away, and she could lead us to the kids."

Aang agreed and the two friends set off in the direction Azula was most likely to have disappeared.

**xx**

"What if she finds the others?" Aang asked Zuko as the ran after Azula.

"I think she's more concerned about getting away from us," Zuko assured Aang, "Why would she stop to fight them?"

"Good point," Aang said. "I hope she leads us to the kids."

"Me too."

"Look!" Aang yelled. He pointed to where he'd seen something up in the trees that looked just like Azula. "I think I saw Azula."

"We'd better go that way then," Zuko said. He and Aang veered off from the direction they'd been running. They'd been running for a few minutes when Zuko asked, "Do you see her anywhere?"

"No," Aang said shaking his head. "I've completely lost sight of her."

"So have I. Where should we go?"

"I have no clue. We don't have any trail to follow this time."

Zuko's shoulders slumped in defeat. They were screwed.

**xx**

Sokka led the way into the cave. The other adults followed him as quietly as possible.

"I don't think she's in here," Sokka whispered to the others, "The cave seems pretty small."

There's an opening over here," Toph informed the others as she walked up to a crack in the wall, "The children are back there. I can see them."

"What about Azula?" Sokka asked his wife.

"Not here."

This had all been spoken in whispers, so the children were unaware of their parents proximity. Ai was the first to notice them coming.

"Mom!" she yelled as soon as Mai came into the little alcove. The other children noticed the adults after Ai's yell. "How did you guys find us?"

"It wasn't that hard really," said Ty Lee as the adults went to untie the children.

"If you ever do anything like that again," Toph threatened her daughter, "You're dead."

"Yes, Ma'am," Ichiko choked. She could feel the tears coming. She hated crying in front of people. She was shocked to see tears in her mother's eyes as well. She'd never seen her mother cry. Suddenly, Toph was holding Ichiko tightly. As soon as her mother released her, Sokka pulled her into a hug that was just as tight as her mother's had been, while Toph grabbed Ikuo.

"Mom, where's dad?" Kazuna asked Katara. Kazuna had been apologizing so profusely that she hadn't even realized her father's absence at first.

"There was a problem in the Fire Nation capital. Something about relations with the Earth Kingdom. He and Uncle Zuko had to go back," Katara told her daughter.

"What happened with the Earth Kingdom?" Ai asked anxiously, looking back and forth between her mother and Katara.

"The Earth King is unhappy about how the Fire Nation has handled Azula's escape," Mai told her daughter and the other children, "But that's not important now. We have to get out of here before Azula comes back. Come on."

The children set off with their parents. Thrilled to finally be free again.

**xx**

"Zuko," Aang held out his hand to stop the firebender from moving forward, "I hear something moving."

Zuko stopped and listened. "I hear it too. It's too loud to be one person."

"Let's go check it out," Aang said quietly. He began moving forward as quietly as possible. He crouched down and hoped that the plants would help hide him from view. Zuko followed him.

They didn't get that far when they saw what had been making the noise. "Katara!" Aang yelled before he could stop himself.

Katara and the others were startled. They were ready to fight before they saw that it was only Aang and Zuko. Katara bended her water back into her water skins as Aang ran towards his wife and daughter. He hugged them both. "Kazuna!" he addressed his daughter, "I'm so happy you're alright!"

Zuko hugged his wife and daughter as well.

"You handled things with the Earth Kingdom really fast," Mai said slowly, as if she was trying to figure out how it was even possible that they could have gotten to the Fire Nation and back in such a short length of time.

"We never even got there," Zuko sighed, "We ran into Azula." The kids all shuddered at the name, more terrified of her than they'd ever been of anything in their lives.

Katara gasped, "What happened?"

"She got away," Aang hung his head, "We tried following her, but we couldn't track her. That's when we found you guys."

"At least now there's proof she's in the Fire Nation," Haru said in a useless attempt to cheer everyone up.

"Yeah, I guess," Zuko agreed, "We'd better be getting back. The Earth Kingdom representative won't be happy with how long it took us to get there or that we were unable to capture Azula."

"True," Aang said, "This will be exhausting."

**XX**

Azula walked back to her current hideout thinking about how easy it had been to escape from her idiot brother and the Avatar. _I can't believe_ he _was made Fire Lord,_ Azula thought to herself, _He has no talent!_

She'd decided to take a long, winding route back to her cave. Zuko and the Avatar might have been idiots, but it was better safe than sorry. She couldn't have them finding her hideout or the children. Because of this, it was sunset as she came upon the cave.

_Let's hope those brats didn't do anything while I was gone_, she thought as she bent down to go through the opening that led to the secret alcove in the cave.

She didn't look up until she was completely through the hole. Usually, she would have begun taunting the children as soon as she began through the hole, but she'd had a long day. She wasn't in the mood for theatrics.

_What the hell! _They were gone! She couldn't believe they were gone! There was no way Zuko and the Avatar could have found this place. It had to have been someone else, or what if the brats had gotten away on their own? _No_, Azula thought, _They couldn't have. They weren't smart enough to get out on their own._

"You little demons," she muttered lowly to herself, "I will find you, and this time I won't be so kind. Next time, you're dead."

**Author's Note: I hope you enjoyed the chapter. I also hope all Americans who read this had a great 4th of July.**

**Has anyone seen The Last Airbender movie? I haven't gone yet, and I don't know if I want to. I haven't heard even one positive thing about it.**

**Anyway, this is kind of the end of one story line (I guess we can call it the kidnapping story line) and the beginning of another. Azula's definitely not going to leave them alone. We'll be seeing some familiar characters in the next few chapters that haven't made an appearance in this story yet.**

**Thanks to Kimhuni2 and gloomy maiko lover for reviewing! You guys are awesome!**


	12. Not Yet Forgiven

**Author's Note: Twenty days! Just when I was getting good at updating, it takes twenty days to get the next chapter up. My laptop's hard drive died the weekend after I posted the last chapter. I'm planning on getting a new one, but until then, I just have my parents' computer which means I don't have as much time to write since I have to share it and stuff. I'm still going to try to update as often as possible, but I don't know how long it will take. On a more positive note, I'm almost positive that this is the longest chapter yet! Enjoy!**

Chapter 11: Not Yet Forgiven

The adults and children were relieved when they finally made it back into the Fire Nation Capital. They felt like they'd been gone forever. Had it really only been a couple of days?

They made their way to the palace, passing many Fire Nation citizens who gave them curious looks as they passed. That sure looked like their Fire Lord and the Avatar walking by, but they were in such filthy clothing! Why, it was as if they'd been wearing the same clothes for a couple of days and been rolling around in dirt!

Finally, the palace gate came into sight. The guard let them in immediately upon recognizing them. They were so glad that they could finally rest.

"Mommy! Daddy! Kazuna!" It was Saki who yelled. She'd been playing with all of the other young kids in front of the palace. They'd spent as much time as possible there, so they'd know immediately when their parents and siblings got home.

The next thing they knew, they were being attacked by children. Only Akatsuki, Hamako, and Kuuya approached them more calmly. They tried hard to look as if they hadn't been as worried as their younger siblings had been, but it didn't work very well.

There were many hugs. The parents questioned their children to make sure everything had been fine while they were gone, and the children asked to hear about everything that had happened.

"You actually saw Azula then?" Nori asked, "You fought her?"

"Yep," Ichiko told her cousin, "And I wouldn't recommend that you ever try it."

"Why not?" Misoka asked indignantly with her arms crossed, "Nori and I are just as good at fighting as you are, or at least we will be when we're you're age."

"That's not what I meant," Ichiko said, "I meant no one should fight her."

The adults could quickly sense a fight coming on. Misoka and Nori had been arguing with Ichiko since they were old enough to talk.

"Let's go inside," Aang said trying to divert the fight, "I think we should let everyone else know we're back."

"I've already informed them," a palace guard spoke up from a few feet away. The adults had been so happy to see their children that they'd forgotten all about the guard that had let them into the palace grounds.

"Right," Aang said, "Well, we should be going inside anyway. Zuko and I need to see that Earth Kingdom representative. Do you know where he is?" Aang asked the guard.

"Waiting inside for you both. He heard me inform the palace staff of your arrival. He doesn't look to pleased that you've left him waiting this long."

"Just as I thought," Zuko muttered to himself. He then continued louder, "Thank you. Come on Aang. I want to get this over with as fast as possible."

"Me too," Aang sighed as he followed Zuko into the palace.

The other adults followed, deciding to go have some tea and rest after the exhausting trip while all of the children headed over to lounge in the shade of some trees. They had a lot to discuss.

**XX**

"You're right,"Akatsuki shivered, "Azula does sound creepy."

"I don't think creepy is the right word," Ayame shook her head, "Downright terrifying is how I'd describe her."

Sugi was hiding her face behind her sister Kazuna. "Sugi," Kazuna comforted her sister, "It's all right. Azula can't hurt you here."

"If she's as bad as you say she is," Sugi mumbled fearfully, "Than I bet she could."

"Relax, Sugi," said Ichiko, "There are tons of guards who all know what Azula looks like standing around this place. There's no way she could get in."

"You really think so?" Sugi looked at her cousin hopefully.

"Of course I do," Ichiko proclaimed confidently.

"But I think she'll try to," Ai said quietly while looking away from the group, "She'll want to get revenge on our parents and maybe even us now."

They all looked at her silently for a minute until Ichiko spoke up. "She may try, but that doesn't mean she'll be able to. Like I said, guards everywhere."

"What about when we go back home?" Ikuo asked his sister.

Ichiko froze. She obviously didn't have anything to say to that.

"Do you really think she'd follow us home?" Hajime said, "I think she'd rather stay in the Fire Nation. I don't think we'll have anything to worry about at home, and you guys," he looked at Ai, Akatsuki, and Akiyoshi, "Will have nothing to worry about in the palace."

"See," Ichiko said, her confidence returning, "Nothing to worry about. We'll be fine."

**XX**

"I wish I knew what was going on in that meeting," Katara muttered as she paced in front of the fireplace. Aang and Zuko had been speaking to the Earth Kingdom representative for a few hours now. Katara and the others were anxious to hear about what was happening. At least, Katara was anxious. The others didn't seem to care quite as much. Toph had even dozed off. She'd never cared for politics.

"Calm down, Katara," Sokka sounded a little annoyed with his sisters antics, "You'll find out. Just be patient." Sokka looked just about as bored as Toph. He really wanted to go do something interesting, but he had a feeling Katara wouldn't let him leave the room. She wasn't too thrilled when Suki and Kaimu had left, claiming they were going to go train with Hajime and Hamako. In fact, Katara had gotten quite offended and said something about how horrible it was that they weren't more concerned in Fire Nation and Earth Kingdom relations.

Haru had been a little smarter about escaping Katara. He'd claimed he needed to use the restroom half an hour ago and had yet to return. Sokka had considered following his lead about fifteen minutes later, but thought better of it because he was quite sure that Katara had caught on. She could be quite stubborn sometimes.

"Man, Katara," Sokka was a little surprised to hear Toph's voice beside him, he hadn't realized that she was awake, "What's the big deal? I don't get what you're so uptight about."

"Do you have any idea how fragile the Fire Nation's relationship with the other nations is right now?" Katara asked her sister-in-law, "If something happens to screw that up, we'll be right back were we started at the end of the war. You do remember what happened right after the war, Toph? It's still a delicate situation, probably will be years from now."

"Katara's right," said Mai, "The Fire Nation's pretty much walking on eggshells right now. Even inside the Fire Nation, there are many citizens who preferred the times when Ozai ruled. It's not an easy situation. If there's a disagreement between the Fire Nation and Earth Kingdom, there will be many people from the Earth Kingdom who want the Fire Nation punished, and many people from the Fire Nation who will want to start another war with the Earth Kingdom."

Sokka had to admit that he hadn't thought of that. He didn't think Toph had either. Sokka had forgiven the Fire Nation a long time ago. He hadn't thought that there might be other people who hadn't.

"Ty Lee, are you alright?" Katara asked suddenly. Sokka looked over at the corner where Ty Lee was sitting. Now that he thought about it, Ty Lee hadn't said anything since they had gotten to the palace. She was sitting quietly in the corner, staring at the ground with a frown on her face. She didn't answer for a moment, as if she was considering her answer. Then, she slowly looked up at them.

"I haven't seen Azula since she had us arrested at the Boiling Rock. I usually try not to think about it, but Ayame kept saying how scary she was, and how crazy Azula was. I just-I don't think you could say Azula and I were best friends. Azula didn't have true friends, but still... I don't know..." Ty Lee trailed off, unable to explain to the others. Mai seemed to understand exactly what she meant though. She walked over to her best friend and wrapped her arms around her in a hug.

"What do you think will happen to her?" Ty Lee asked Mai in a small voice.

"I don't know, Ty Lee," Mai whispered, "I don't know."

**XX**

Azula hadn't thought she'd ever need to know how to survive in the wild. Why did the princess of the Fire Nation need to know which plants were edible and which were deadly? (For the record, apparently some types of mushrooms are poisonous. She'd found that out the hard way. She was quite certain that she'd never look at a mushroom again which was a shame considering how much she'd loved them before.)

Azula couldn't even remember the last bath she'd had. Had she really only been out here a little over a week? She had to have lost count of the days. She smelt as if she'd never had a bath in her life.

Azula was currently eating some berries. That was all she'd been eating lately, as she'd discovered these berries to be safe. She longed for some meat, any kind would do, but those damn animals were hard to catch. Not to mention, she didn't actually know how she would kill one. She didn't have any weapons, and firebending wasn't the most effective way since she really didn't want her meat burnt to a crisp.

However, Azula's lack of a proper diet or hygiene wasn't the most pressing issue at the moment. She'd been planning non-stop the past few hours as she sat in her nice, new hiding place. She had to get back into the Fire Nation capital without being caught. That was the only way she could execute her plan. Believe it or not, it wasn't her idiot brother and his family that she needed to see, at least not yet. That came later. No, she needed to see some one who she thought could be very helpful to her. They might be a little shocked to see her, it had been almost two decades since they'd last seen each other, but Azula thought they'd welcome the visit. They'd have some catching up to do, and Azula thought they would be quite happy to hear what she had planned.

**XX**

It was early the next morning when Kazuna set out towards the barn that was reserved for Appa whenever they visited. It was Kazuna's turn to feed Appa that morning, not that she minded. She loved spending time with Appa.

Her father had gotten Appa when he was very young, and it amazed Kazuna that Appa was still alive, let alone able to fly them around the world.

As soon as Appa saw Kazuna enter the barn, he roared in greeting. Kazuna smiled at him as she brought him some hay.

"It's nice to see you Appa," Kazuna told the bison as she sat by his side and stroked his fur. She always spent time with him every day unless he was traveling with her father. Appa was one of her closest friends, even if he wasn't human. She enjoyed the fact that she could tell him absolutely anything without a fear of him blabbing it to someone.

Kazuna sat at Appa's side for over an hour. She told him all about going after Ichiko and being captured by Azula. She described the complete and utter fear she felt in Azula's presence. She told him how she felt like a coward compared to everyone else. She knew that they were scared of Azula too, but they were still braver than her. She would always be the coward. She tried to hide her fear but it was still always there. She felt ashamed that she couldn't be braver. She felt like a disgrace to her family. Appa just sat and listened. That was the great thing about Appa, he couldn't judge her based on the secrets she told him.

"Thanks for listening, Appa," she told him as she stood to leave the barn, "It's nice knowing that there's always someone that will listen." She patted the flying bison once more before going back to the palace once more where she would try her hardest to hide her fear once more.

**Author's Note: Thanks yet again to Kimjuni2 and gloomy maiko lover for reviewing! You guys are awesome!**

**I finally went and saw The Last Airbender movie. If you want to hear what I thought, there's a video on my Youtube channel at /hmweasley.**

**And I'm loving all of the news about Avatar: The Legend of Korra! It sounds great! I'm particularly excited about seeing Tenzin.**


	13. The Earth Kingdom's Expectations

**Author's Note: It's been a month since I posted the last chapter! Hopefully, the next won't take as long. It is kind of cool that it was exactly a month ago today though... Anyway, enjoy the chapter!**

Chapter 12: The Earth Kingdom's Expectations

"The Earth King feels that you aren't trying hard enough to fix the problem," The Earth Kingdom representative told Zuko for what had to have been the millionth time in the past two days. He had been arguing with Aang and Zuko for what seemed like hours just today. Yesterday, they'd been unable to reach an agreement, so they'd decided to meet again today.

Zuko answered, again for the millionth time, "And what exactly does the Earth King think we should be doing?"

"Capturing Azula, of course," the Earth King representative, who had introduced himself as Arashi, said this as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

"That's a brilliant idea," Zuko said in a mocking voice, "But you haven't given us any ideas on how exactly we're supposed to do that."

"That's because it's your job, not the Earth Kingdom's."

"I assure you, we're doing everything we possibly can."

Arashi glared at Zuko with cold eyes, "Obviously, that isn't good enough."

"Guys," Aang stepped in, "Let's not fight. Look, Arashi, I can personally attest to the fact that Zuko has done everything in his power to stop Azula, but Azula is very powerful, probably more powerful than you're aware of. I can also assure you that Azula is still in the Fire Nation and-"

"Yes," Arashi interrupted Aang, "She's in the Fire Nation at the moment, but who's to say that she won't show up in the Earth Kingdom tomorrow."

"Arashi," Aang said as patiently as he could, "I think it's in Azula's best interests to stay in the Fire Nation. She wants to be Fire Lord first. Then, she wants to worry about taking over the world."

"How can you possibly know that?" Arashi asked, "This isn't the old Azula we're talking about. She's insane. Insane people don't have plans. She just wants to kill as many people as she can."

"I think," Zuko said through gritted teeth, "That I know Azula better than you do. Insane or not, she has a plan, and at the moment, it's definitely to become Fire Lord. I promise you, there are very few people who should be worried at the moment, and most of them are currently in this palace."

"What about General Iroh?" Arashi smiled, "He lives in Ba Sing Se now doesn't he? See, Azula could come to Ba Sing Se to find him."

Aang rolled his eyes inwardly. This guy was just trying to use anything to make his point, no matter how far fetched.

"Why would Azula go after Iroh in the Earth Kingdom when there are so many people here at the palace, including me, who she wants the most," Zuko asked Arashi. Arashi didn't seem to be able to come up with a response. "And she knows that Uncle doesn't want to be Fire Lord. He's not the one standing in her way."

"That's what I thought," Zuko snapped, and without another word, Zuko walked out of the room.

"Um," Aang said awkwardly, "I guess the meeting's over then. I'll just be going. Bye." He followed Zuko out the door, leaving a slightly confused Arashi.

**XX**

"Did you hear that?" Ayame asked the others. They'd just been spying on the meeting between Aang, Zuko, and Arashi.

"Yes, Ayame, we heard it," Ichiko rolled her eyes at her friend, "We were listening just like you were."

"I hadn't even thought about Uncle Iroh," Ai said with her face turned towards the ground, "I wish he was here."

"I hope Uncle Zuko didn't make the Earth Kingdom guy too mad," said Kazuna, "We don't need the Earth Kingdom and Fire Nation fighting right now."

"True," said Ai, "I wish everyone could just move on. It's mainly the older people who are still prejudiced against each other. That Arashi guy is old enough to remember the war pretty well. He may have even fought in it. Those are the people who have the hardest time forgiving."

"They didn't really come up with a solution for Azula," Ikuo observed.

"Of course not," Hajime said in a somewhat annoyed voice, "The Earth Kingdom expects the Fire Nation to get rid of her immediately, but doesn't want to have any part in it themselves." Hajime had never been more upset with his own nation.

The kids were silent for a moment, all caught up in their own thoughts. Then, Ai spoke up, "Did you hear what my dad said? About how Azula wants him the most? I'm so scared." Just like that, she began to cry. The others weren't sure what to do. Ai was usually the strongest of them all, even if Ichiko liked to pretend that she was stronger.

"It'll be okay, Ai," Kazuna said in an attempt to comfort her friend. She put her arm around Ai's shoulders.

"How do you know?" Ai asked in a disbelieving voice.

"I don't," Kazuna said in a dark voice, "But I sure hope it will be."

**XX**

The next day, after everyone had had a good night's sleep, the adults herded all of the children together to deliver some news.

"It's been decided," Aang began, "That everyone's going to return home for the time being except me. I need to travel to the Earth Kingdom and speak to the Earth King, and then I need to return here to help in any way I can. You'll be traveling with Appa, while I use my glider."

The kids just sat still for a moment, thinking. Then, Saki spoke up, "Daddy," Aang turned his head to look at his daughter, "Will we be safe?"

Aang knelled down to her level and placed his hands on her shoulders. "Of course you will, sweetie. I wouldn't let you go back home if you wouldn't be."

Sugi wandered over to her father and sister. "I don't want you to go, Daddy," she said in a quiet voice, "Why can't you come with us?"

Aang's heart hurt every time one of his children asked a question like this. He'd accepted his fate as the Avatar a long time ago, but he still found him wishing at times that it had been some one else. Then again, if he hadn't been the Avatar, he'd have been dead over a hundred years ago. "I have to take care of this. It's my job as the Avatar, but I'll come home as soon as I can. Okay?" Sugi nodded her head, and Aang pulled her into a hug.

"When are we leaving?" It was Kazuna who asked the question.

"In the morning," Katara replied, "So, you kids had best get some rest. Come on. It's bed time." She began ushering the children toward their bedrooms. The adults followed.

Aang really hoped this was over with soon. He didn't want to be away from his family for very long.

**XX**

Azula quietly made her way through the corridor. It hadn't been difficult to get past the guard. Security had really gone downhill since Zuko took over the nation. Not that the guards had been all that competent during her father's rule either.

The prison was dark and cold, definitely a miserable place. Azula found the cell she was looking for easily. It was the only one in the whole prison that was occupied. _I guess he's dangerous enough to warrant his own prison_, she thought.

The prisoner looked up when he heard the door open. Azula could tell that she had startled him a little. He probably wasn't used to getting visitors at this time of night. In fact, the only visitors he probably ever got were the guards that brought his meals.

His startled expression soon turned to recognition. He smiled at her in a cruel sort of way. "Azula," he said in a raspy voice that she could tell had hardly been used in the past couple of decade, "It's been a long time."

"Yes," she said, the same sort of cruel smile forming on her own lips, "It has been far too long."

**XX**

"Hajime and Hamako are both in bed," Kaimu informed his wife as he entered their bedroom. He tried to smile at her, but couldn't after seeing her sitting on the bed with such a pained expression on her face.

Kaimu walked over to the bed and sat down next to Suki. He wrapped his arm around her and said, "They'll get Azula."

"I just feel like we should stay to help," Suki said quietly, "I could send for the other Kyoshi Warriors. We would be useful."

"The Fire Nation is capable of handling this on their own," Kaimu told her, "Zuko knows you'd be willing to help. He'd ask if he needed you."

"Maybe, but I still feel like I should offer."

"I'm sure it won't be that long before they catch her, and then this will all be over," Kaimu said, attempting to comfort her.

"Maybe," was Suki's only response.

Kaimu knew that that was all he'd get out of her. Ever since the Kyoshi Warriors had left Kyoshi Island to help the rest of the Earth Kingdom during the war, Suki had always wanted to help in anyway she could. It was one of the things Kaimu loved about her, but sometimes she could be a little too helpful. Kaimu was sure that Zuko and the Fire Nation could handle this problem on their own. How could Azula possibly beat a whole nation?

**XX**

When Haru came into his and Ty Lee's room to go to bed, he found Ty Lee sitting up in bed with her knees pulled up to her chest. She was staring into space, with a sad expression on her face. It was the same expression that had been on her face almost constantly since they'd gotten back to the palace.

He got into bed next to her. Ty Lee must have seen him or felt the bed move because when he looked back at her she was watching him. She didn't say anything. She just laid down beside him. He knew she wasn't in the mood to talk. Everything with Azula had her in a very depressed mood. He just wrapped his arms around her and tried to sleep. That's how they stayed all night.

**XX**

"I can't believe our daughter was kidnapped."

"Sokka," Toph's voice was muffled since she currently had her face smothered in her pillow. She turned over sleepily to look at her husband. "You've said that a hundred times over the past couple days. It's late. Can you please just go to sleep?"

"Fine," Sokka answered a little grumpily. He laid down and closed his eyes.

Toph was just about to drift off into sleep when Sokka suddenly spoke up again. "I can't believe our daughter was kidnapped." He received a, quite hard, elbow to the stomach which obviously worked as Toph didn't hear another word from him the rest of the night.

**XX**

"I hope Ty Lee's okay," Mai muttered to Zuko as they laid in bed. They'd been trying to sleep for a few hours now and had been unsuccessful.

"I'm sure she'll be fine," Zuko assured his wife.

"I was thinking," Mai started to say. She paused for a minute before she continued. "Maybe, once we catch Azula again, we should visit her sometimes."

"What!" Zuko practically yelled in shock.

"Think about it," Mai continued, attempting to defend her idea, "It might be good for her, and I'm not suggesting we take the kids. That would be too dangerous, but the two of us could go. Ty Lee would probably be interested in the idea as well. Even Ursa and Iroh might go with us."

Zuko had found his mother about a year after the war had ended. She'd been living in the Earth Kingdom ever since she'd been banished, and she had no interest of returning to live in the Fire Nation. She visited several times a year though, and they had even gone to visit her a few times.

"I don't know. Mom and Ty Lee might, but I don't know about Uncle."

"She's your sister," Mai pleaded.

"She tried to kill me, Mai!" Zuko said exasperated, "And you and Ty Lee too!"

"And at the time I hated her for it, but the more I think about it, the more I wonder if it was really her fault. Look at how she was raised. It wasn't exactly a normal upbringing. Neither was yours, but yours was a lot different from Azula's even if you are siblings. Plus, she may have been insane for even longer than we knew. She just got worse at the end of the war."

"Oh, she's definitely always been insane," Zuko said.

Mai turned to look at her husband, "Will you at least think about it?"

"I guess," Zuko sighed, and they fell into a comfortable silence once again.

**XX**

"I always hate when you have to travel," Katara said quietly. Her and Aang were laying in bed wrapped in each others arms. They dreaded having to part ways the next day.

"Me too," said Aang, "Hopefully, I won't be gone long. The Earth King is a lot more capable of making decisions, good or bad, on his own now, but it can still be pretty easy to influence him into doing what you want him to do. Usually, I hate that, but in this case, where he's completely out of line, it may actually be a good thing."

"He's met Azula," Katara said, "Surely, he could look at this realistically."

"But everyone knows Azula went insane," Aang told his wife, "The Earth Kingdom representative kept saying, 'It shouldn't be hard to capture a crazy woman.' They don't understand that Azula's not just any crazy woman."

"I guess not," Katara sighed.

"If everything goes well," Aang said, changing that subject slightly, "I shouldn't be there that long."

"I hope not," Katara murmured. She snuggled into Aang, and they both drifted off into an uneasy sleep.

**XX**

Ichiko was awoken when she heard a knock at her bedroom door. She tried to ignore it at first, covering her ears with a pillow. After about the tenth knock though, she'd lost her patience.

"Who is it?" she asked harshly.

"Hajime," she heard someone say from the other side of the door.

"What the hell do you want?" she asked as she stomped her way over to the door, still pissed about being woken up in the middle of the night.

"I need to talk to you," he said as soon as she opened the door. The first thing Ichiko noticed was that he looked incredibly nervous. She'd never heard his voice waver like that, and his breathing was loud and shallow.

"What is it?" Ichiko asked slowly with confusion in her voice.

Hajime was quiet for a minute. He looked over his shoulder as if he was scared someone would sneak up behind him. Finally, he spoke, "Um, would it be alright if we talked outside? We can walk around the palace grounds."

"Fine," Ichiko said, still confused.

She followed Hajime out the nearest door. It was a full moon, so they could see the nearby pond and flowers clearly in the moonlight. The scene kind of reminded Ichiko of when Ayame ranted about her dream date. It was beautiful. _Wait_, Ichiko thought,_ I did not just think that. I'm not turning into a girly romantic like Ayame. Besides I'm here with _Hajime_. Why am I thinking about dream dates and how beautiful it is?_

"Ichiko," Hajime spoke after a long silence, "There's something I need to tell you. It's been on my mind for a long time. I was too scared to tell you, but after what happened with Azula, I know I need to."

"Um, where is this going?" Ichiko asked. She was a little nervous. She thought she might be starting to sweat despite the fact that it was the middle of the night and cool.

"I like you Ichiko," Hajime finally blurted out before he could stop himself, "I mean really like you. I've had a crush on you for over a year now, and I've been too scared to say anything about it."

He stopped, clearly waiting for Ichiko's reaction. Ichiko was only able to think one thing: _crap_.

**Author's Note: I got a new laptop a little while after I posted the chapter which made it easier to write again. I also started school a couple of weeks ago which is going to mean a little longer time between chapters, but hopefully not too long.**

**Please review! I love to hear your opinions! Who do you think Azula went to visit? How do you think Ichiko's going to react?**


	14. He'll Want to Hear About This

**Author's Note: This chapter is shorter than the past several chapters have been, and I guess it's just basically filler. Next chapter there will be more stuff that affect the plot. This chapter is just basically them all going home. Enjoy!**

Chapter 13: He'll Want to Hear About This

Ichiko wasn't sure how long she stood there frozen in shock. It was as if her mind had stopped working because what had happened was just too impossible for it to even try to understand. Hajime just stood there, waiting for her to answer. When Ichiko was finally able to get her mind to work a little, she noticed he looked more nervous than she had ever seen him.

_I have to say something to him_, Ichiko thought. The problem was, she wasn't sure what she should say. She liked Hajime as a friend and all, but she didn't have a crush on him. She'd told herself a long time ago that she was never going to date anyone. She didn't see the point. She was perfectly fine being on her own her whole life. She liked the independence. She didn't want to have someone else tagging along all of the time.

Her friends had always told her that she'd get over it someday. She'd been determined- was determined- to prove them wrong. Then why was it that she couldn't just say that to Hajime? _ I just don't want to hurt his feelings. _That's what she told herself. It even made sense, but she still got this sickening feeling that it wasn't true. She hated that feeling.

_I don't like him!_ Okay, this was getting just a little out of hand if she was resorting to screaming at herself inside her head. _Just calm down_, she told herself.

"Um, Ichiko," Hajime finally interrupted, "Sorry to disturb you from your thoughts, but we've been standing here a very long time."

"Right," Ichiko willed more words to come but none did. "Um..."

"It's okay if you tell me you don't like me," Hajime told her. Ichiko wanted to believe that, but she knew it was going to be awkward between them no matter what happened now.

"I'm... confused," she said finally, deciding that it was the most truthful answer she could give him. She glanced around the palace grounds, not quite sure what she should do.

"That's okay too," Hajime said after a slight pause. "You can think about it if you want and then tell me later. Or, you could never bring it up again. That's fine too." For some reason, this made Ichiko feel like a horrible person. She was about to try to say something to make him feel better, although she had no idea what to say, before he spoke up again. "Well, I guess we'd better be getting back to bed. We have a long ride on Appa tomorrow. Coming?"

He walked off without waiting to see if Ichiko was following him. She took a few steps to follow him but then stopped. _There's no way I'm gong to be able to sleep now_, she thought. Maybe a walk through the palace gardens would help her clear her mind.

**XX**

"Bye daddy!" Sugi and Toya practically yelled as the hugged Aang goodbye. "We'll miss you!"

"I'll miss you guys too," he told the three-year-old twins as he hugged them. They were the last of his children, besides Yuuga who didn't really understand what was going on, to tell him goodbye. Katara and the rest of his children stood around him along with the rest of his friends and family. Once the twins were done hugging him, Katara stepped forward with Yuuga in her arms. She didn't say anything, she just stepped toward him, and he wrapped his arms around her and the baby.

Finally, Katara whispered, "I'll miss you. You better get home soon."

"I'll miss you too," Aang told his wife, "I'll be home as soon as possible." He kissed her goodbye and took off on his glider. He didn't want to stay around too long after saying goodbye, it made it harder for him to leave.

_Hopefully, the Earth King won't be to difficult_, he thought as he flew towards the Earth Kingdom.

**XX**

After Aang's departure, the others had a couple of hours before they were to leave. They were in their rooms making sure they weren't leaving anything behind or making the most of the little time they had left with the Fire Nation royal family. Who knew when they would see them next.

**XX**

"It's really going to suck not having you guys here," Ai sighed, "It's so boring when you guys aren't around."

"Yeah," Ichiko laughed, "I guess you won't be going after crazed lunatics to pass the time without us, huh?"

Ai smiled, "No, I think that should be something we only do together."

All of the children were currently standing on one of the palace's lawns saying their goodbyes. It seemed unfair that it was such a beautiful day when they were all so sad to be leaving Ai, Akatsuki, Akiyoshi, Mai, and Zuko behind.

"Next time,"Akiyoshi said in complete seriousness, "I want to go after the crazed lunatic with you guys."

Ai smiled down at her little brother, "Sure, Akiyoshi."

Saki looked at Akiyoshi like he was crazy. "Why would you want to do that?"

"It would be fun," Akiyoshi defended himself.

Saki rolled her eyes. "It'd be suicide."

"I think it'll be a lot quieter around here once you guys are gone," Ai said changing the subject, "Less fighting anyway."

"You're lucky you only have two brothers," Kazuna said, "I have to deal with seven little kids."

"I'm not little!" Kuuya protested.

"Fine then," Kazuna relented, "Six little kids."

The kids continued their goodbyes until the adults came to tell them it was finally time to leave.

**XX**

"Have a safe trip," Mai said as her friends and their children climbed onto Appa. Kazuna knew that Mai told them pretty much the exact same thing every time they left after a visit, but it had never seemed more relevant than right now.

Katara smiled down at Mai as she took her seat near Appa's head, "We will." She really seemed confident about it too. As Kazuna yelled goodbyes and waved with the others, she wondered if she was just overreacting. It was true that Azula probably wouldn't bother to follow them. They'd be fine. Somehow, even though she knew this was true, she was still worried.

Luckily, it was hard to worry about Azula when you were crammed onto Appa, and Kazuna was literally crammed. There were so many of them that Kazuna was shocked that Appa could even fly. Amazingly, he was able to make it off the ground, but he flew a lot slower than normal and would need frequent breaks. At this rate, it would be a long time before they made it home.

Besides that, Kazuna barely had room to move. She had several off her younger siblings on her lap, and Ichiko and Ayame were pressing in on her from either side. (Ichiko was also practically on top of her as if she was trying her hardest to get away from Hajime who was on her other side. The two of them kept giving each other awkward looks. _Hmm_, Kazuna thought, _I'll have to ask her about that later_.) Appa's saddle was not meant to hold this many people. Once the younger ones were too old to be held, they were going to have to find another way for all of them to travel together. Toph, Sokka, and Ty Lee had joined Katara on Appa's head. Toph clinging to Sokka's arm tightly for support while the other three adults were monitoring the kids up in the saddle. They hadn't even gotten but a few mile from the Fire Nation Capital and Kazuna already felt like she was ready for this trip to be over.

**XX**

Azula looked up to the sky when she heard the familiar noise. A smirk spread across her face as she saw the Avatar's flying bison make it's way across the sky. She could make out the many figures on his head and back. _They're leaving_, she thought, _That will make things a little easier._

She began to make her way back to the Fire Nation prison that she'd been visiting a lot the past couple of days. He'll want to hear about this.

**Author's Note: Thanks to Kimjuni2 for reviewing! Please review guys! I always get emails saying that people are adding this story to their favorites or their alerts, but they never review. What do you guys think of the chapter? How do you think Ichiko really feels? Who do you think Azula's meeting with? Review please!**


	15. On Their Own

**Author's Note: It's been about a month, so it's about time I updated. It would have been up sooner, but I've been writing a lot of original fiction for this contest. Once the contest is over, I plan on posting all of that on Fictionpress, so if you want, you can check out my account over there. It's the same username. This chapter is a little short, but I hope you guys enjoy it!**

**In this chapter: Zuko and Mai meet with generals to discuss what to do about Azula. Ozai has a visitor. Kazuna goes back to school, and catches up with her friends at the Southern Water Tribe. Aang meets with the Earth King, and then goes to visit an old friend in Ba Sing Se.**

Chapter 14: On Their Own

"We're doing all we can, Fire Lord Zuko," one of Zuko's top ranking general informed him.

"I know," Zuko said, "But it's obviously not working. We need a different plan. Does anyone have any ideas?"

No one said a word. They just looked around the room waiting for someone else to volunteer. Zuko sighed. The stress was really beginning to get to him. Mai, who was sitting at his side, rested her hand on his in an effort to calm him.

Finally, someone spoke up, "We're already doing everything we can."

"You're telling me that the Fire Nation was able to almost take over the world, but they can't find one crazy woman?" Zuko's frustration was beginning to show.

"Sir," spoke up another general, "I know it sounds bad, but it's the truth. Azula clearly knows what she's doing. She knows all of the Fire Nation's weaknesses."

"We're obviously not looking in the right places," Zuko told those assembled. "She has to be hiding somewhere we're not considering."

Suddenly, Zuko felt Mai stiffen beside him. He looked over at her with a worried look on his face. "Mai, what is it?"

Mai slowly turned to look at him and then spoke in a whisper, "Your father."

Zuko's expression turned into one of confusion. "What about my fath-" He stopped, suddenly realizing what Mai meant. He turned back toward the assembled officers who were looking at him and Mai with interest, "Place extra guards around my father's cell. I think Mai might have figured out one place Azula's been visiting."

**XX**

Ozai looked up from the floor when he heard foot steps coming toward his cell. It wasn't the normal time for the guards to come by which meant it had to be someone else. He had a pretty good idea who. A cruel smile made its way across his face as she entered, "Azula, good to see you again."

He saw his smile mirrored on her face. "You too, father. I'm sorry I haven't been able to visit the past few days. I've been getting everything ready for our plan."

"Of course you have," Ozai said, "I'm sure everything will go perfectly. It's only a matter of time before I'm out of this rotten place. How is everything going?"

"The Avatar left yesterday and his family and many of his friends went with them," as Azula spoke Ozai nodded his head in pleasure, "I think the Avatar is heading to the Earth Kingdom. From what I've been able to gather, the Earth King isn't happy with Zuko or the Fire Nation right now. Not that they have been for over a hundred years."

"That's one less obstacle then," Ozai said, "We'll have to deal with the Avatar, but we'll get Zuko out of the way first. Now, when am I getting out of here?"

Azula smiled, "Soon, father. Very soon."

**XX**

"I can't believe that even the Southern Water Tribe has heard about Azula escaping," Kuuya muttered as he walked to school with three of his sisters. They had returned to the village on Saturday and it was their first day back at school. School had begun while they were in the Fire Nation. They hadn't even been to the Southern Water Tribe in about a month because they'd been staying the the Southern Air Temple, where they spent every summer.

"It's not really surprising, Kuuya," Kazuna told her younger brother, "It's huge news. It makes since that they found out before we got back."

"Everyone's going to be bothering me at school though," Kuuya complained, "They'll want to know exactly what happened, and I don't want to talk about it."

"Then don't talk about it," Kazuna told him.

"That's easier said then done," Kuuya rolled his eyes, "They'll bug me all day."

"Why's that bad?" Misoka asked, looking up at Kuuya.

"Because it's annoying," said Kuuya.

"We think it's cool," said Nori, "It's cool when everyone wants to talk to you."

"You're only eight," Kuuya said dismissively.

"You're only ten," Misoka and Nori said simultaneously in indignation.

**XX**

Kazuna looked around as she entered the classroom. Her eyes roamed the room until she found Zhuang, Ching Lan, and Feng huddled in a group in the back of the room. They were her three closest friends in the Southern Water Tribe.

Ching Lan saw Kazuna first. She was always in excitable person, maybe even more so than Ayame which was saying something.

"Kazuna!" she yelled when she saw Kazuna coming towards them. She ran towards Kazuna and wrapped her arms tightly around her yelling, "I haven't seen you in months! It's been so long!"

Kazuna kind of laughed at Ching Lan's exorbitance. "Yeah, I know. We had to visit the Fire Nation because of the whole Azula thing."

"Duh," laughed Feng, "We already know that. Everyone knows that. We want to hear the whole story."

"Everyone's saying that you guys actually fought Azula," Zhuang said with awe in his voice.

"Yeah, we did," Kazuna's eyes tilted downward, and she blushed lightly as she spoke.

"Well," said Ching Lan sensing Kazuna's reluctance to discuss Azula, "As exciting as that sounds, I can't believe you made me put up with these two on my own for a month." She pointed at Feng and Zhuang as she spoke. "A girl can only put up with two guys for so long before she goes insane. You have no idea how badly I need girl time."

Kazuna laughed as Zhuang and Feng pretended to be offended. "I missed you too, Ching Lan," she told her friend, "And you guys too," she added when Feng and Zhuang both yelled, "Hey!"

"Okay," Ching Lan began, "We have a lot of catching up to do. Let's start with this whole Azula thing."

Kazuna sighed as she sat down with her friends and began telling them the whole story. She couldn't help but wonder if the others were having similar first days back.

**XX**

"I don't think it's that difficult to understand," Aang said through clenched teeth. He'd been talking to the Earth King for half an hour now, and the Earth King was being very stubborn.

According to the Earth King, it was completely unacceptable that the Fire Nation, more specifically Zuko, hadn't been able to capture Azula.

"And," the Earth King continued, ignoring Aang, "I'm appalled that the Fire Lord couldn't come speak to me himself."

"He's busy trying to find Azula," Aang said exasperated, "Or is that not the whole reason we're having this meeting. If you want to speak directly to him, travel to the Fire Nation."

"Why would I do that when I'm so busy here?" the king said a little haughtily.

Aang put his face in his hands. This was not going well.

**XX**

Aang wearily made his way up the steps of the teashop. Once inside, his eyes roamed around the room searching for the owner. He spotted Iroh at one of the tables conversing with some customers. He always enjoyed asking the customers if they enjoyed the tea. Their answer was almost always yes.

Iroh saw Aang coming towards him and excused himself from the customers. "You look tired," he told Aang once they had sat down at a vacant table.

"I talked to him for hours, and he still won't see reason," Aang sighed.

Iroh had a sympathetic look on his face, "It may be years from know before the damage from the war fully heals," he told Aang sadly, "In fact, it may never completely heal. We can only hope that sometime in the future the Earth Kingdom won't be so judgmental of the Fire Nation. Until then, I think the Fire Nation is on its own. The Earth Kingdom is obviously not going to be helpful in this situation."

"I guess you're right," Aang slumped in his chair, "I think I'll head back to the Fire Nation tomorrow. As you said, there's no use trying to reason with the Earth King, and I need to help Zuko as much as I can."

Iroh nodded, "I wish you and Zuko the best of luck in finding Azula. We can only hope she doesn't cause to much damage before she's found."

**Author's Note: I hope you guys enjoyed it! As always, I'd love for you guys to review! No one reviewed last chapter which is kind of depressing.**


	16. Don't Let Her

**Author's Note: Another chapter after only a week! I really like this chapter overall. It may actually be my favorite chapter of the story so far.**

Chapter 15: Don't Let Her

Ichiko sat on the beach watching the giant koi fish in the distance. Her head rested on her knees as she got lost in her thoughts. She didn't notice at first that Hajime had sat down beside her. He nudged her after he'd been ignored for a few minutes. She literally jumped to her feet as soon as he touched her. He'd probably have been attacked if she hadn't noticed it was him so quickly.

"Don't ever sneak up on me like that!" she yelled in rage. Her voice shook as she spoke and Hajime could tell he'd frightened her. Truthfully, she had frightened him too. Azula had all of them more scared than any of them would admit.

For a minute, Ichiko looked as if she was debating storming off and sitting back down where she'd been before Hajime had scared her. Hajime didn't say anything. He watched Ichiko for a moment before turning to look to where she'd been staring before being interrupted, the giant koi.

Suddenly, Hajime spoke up, "Sometimes, I wish I wasn't human. It seems like it would be so easy being an animal. Sure, they have emotions, but they're no where near as complicated as our emotions are. Take dogs for example, they either hate you or love you. It's as simple as that. They don't judge people so easily. If you're kind to them, they're kind to you. Dogs don't set out to make each others lives miserable. They don't want power. They help each other, work as a team. It's so simple."

Ichiko just stared at Hajime. She had no idea where this was coming from. She slowly sank down in the sand behind him. After his little speech, neither one of them said anything. Hajime watched the koi, and Ichiko watched Hajime. He seemed different to her somehow, right at this moment.

Finally, Ichiko broke the silence, "I understand. I was thinking about what it would be like to be a fish before you came." She turned to look at the koi again as she spoke. "It doesn't know who Azula is or why everyone's so scared of her. I thought it would be great to be so carefree. Then, I realized that there's problems with being a koi too. They have to worry about predators and always finding food sure, but the biggest problem is that they don't love like we do. I mean, who knows if they even love at all. Dogs are loyal to their owners, more so than most humans would ever be to anybody, but is it really love? I think that's what's so special about being human. We have to deal with a lot of crap, but there are so many great things that make up for that." Ichiko had never considered herself to be good with words. She had no idea where this was coming from. It just came to her as she spoke.

Ichiko looked back at Hajime. "I won't lie. I'm terrified of Azula. But I realized today that she can never win. She's after power. Even if she wins and gets what she wants, we'll still have each other." She paused before continuing in a tight voice. "Even if someone we love dies because of her, we'll still have won. Azula's life will always be miserable, and although this may make me a horrible person, that makes me feel better."

Neither one said anything more after that. They watched the sunset together before walking home in silence. As they walked, Hajime wrapped his hand around Ichiko's, and she surprised herself by not pulling hers away. Then, in front of Ichiko's door, Hajime kissed her on the cheek, smiled, and left without saying a word.

**XX**

Kazuna frowned at the letter her mother handed her. She was used to getting letters. It was how she stayed in touch with Ichiko, Ai, and Ayame when they were apart, but the handwriting on this letter wasn't any of theirs.

She opened the envelope, curious to see who had written her. Before reading the letter, she glanced at the signature at the bottom. Akatsuki. Why had Ai's nine year old brother written her? She began to read his slightly messy handwriting.

_Dear Kazuna,_

_I know it may seem a little weird that I'm writing to you. We don't usually talk to each other when you're not here. We don't even talk that much when you're here. I saw Ai writing a letter the other day and wanted to write one too. Dad has to help me since I don't know how to spell all of the words yet._

_He asked me who I wanted to write to first, and I said you. I hope that's okay. I guess I could have written to Kuuya since he's my best friend and all, but I'm writing to him next. I hope he gets his letter when you get yours. I'm going to try writing to everybody!_

_I'm running out of things to talk about. Writing a letter is hard._

_I can't stop thinking about Azula. Dad's reading over my shoulder and frowning as I write. It's true though. I'm scared._

_My hand hurts. Writing can be hard._

_I hope you write back._

_Sincerely,_

_Akatsuki_

Kazuna smiled as she read the letter. She had no idea why Akatsuki had chosen her to write to first, but she thought it was cute. Her smile faltered a little at the part about Azula though. It wasn't right that a little nine year old was so terrified of something like this. It was even his own aunt! When Kazuna had been nine her biggest worry had been what she was having for snack that day.

She sat down to write Akatsuki back.

_Dear Akatsuki,_

_I'm touched that you decided to write your first letter to me._

_Kuuya did get a letter today. I didn't talk to him, but it was probably yours. We'll send our replies together, so you may have even read his already._

_Azula's been on my mind too. I understand why you're scared, but I'm sure everything will be fine. If they beat Azula once, they can do it again._

_I can't wait to get your next letter._

_Love,_

_Kazuna_

**XX**

Ayame stepped into the building where she practiced fighting every day. She wasn't surprised to see Ikuo there. He liked to practice his sword fighting in here when the Kiyoshi Warriors weren't all using this place to train. She did find it a little odd that Ikuo was just sitting on the floor with his sword on the ground beside him. He didn't look as if he'd done much practicing at all.

"Ikuo," she said to get his attention.

He looked up at her and said, "Hey."

"Hi," Ayame said a little slowly. She could tell that there was something off with Ikuo. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing," Ikuo sighed, "I'm just thinking."

"About Azula," Ayame finished for him.

Ikuo just nodded and Ayame went and at sat beside him.

"Isn't she what everyone's thinking about?" he asked.

"Of course she is," Ayame said, "How can we not?"

"I hate that she's pretty much taken over our lives," Ikuo said.

"Then don't let her," Ayame smirked.

"What?" Ikuo asked in confusion.

"Spar with me," Ayame said as she stood up. "You and your sword against me and my hand to hand combat and chi blocking."

Ikuo smirked, "You're on."

Ikuo was back to his normal self in no time. As they spared, he began to taunt and tease Ayame. Normally this would have bugged her as she hated being picked on, but considering the circumstance, she decided to just put up with it and even toss a few teasing insults back.

**XX**

Kuuya was honestly a little frightened when he saw the tears on his mother's face. He'd seen her cry on a few occasions, but this seemed different somehow. Maybe it was because it was just the two of them in the room and his dad wasn't there to comfort her like he usually was. Kuuya felt that it was his responsibility to cheer her up, and he wasn't sure if he could do that.

"Mom?" he whispered quietly. He'd needed to ask her something and had found her in her room. She was sitting on the bed and had no candles lit. The light from the other room was just bright enough for him to see the tears.

She hadn't noticed him come in. She shifted her gaze from the window to him. "Kuuya," she said, "Come here." She held her arms out, and he walked into them. He hadn't been held in a while. He was too old for it really, but he let her just this once. She hugged him for a few minutes until the tears had stopped falling. Then, she loosened her grip on him and smiled. "Come on," she said, "Let's go and see what your brothers and sisters are doing."

Kuuya followed Katara out of the room. He was surprised at how easy that had been.

**XX**

Ai was wandering around the palace aimlessly when she came across a boy she had never seen before coming down the hallway. She could tell he was a servant, but he looked so much younger than the other servants. She must have been staring because he grinned a little before bowing and addressing her as Princess Ai. Almost everyone had bowed to her for her whole life, but it never got any less annoying to her. She didn't ever stop them though since it was tradition.

"If never met you before," she said to him before we could walk away.

"Probably not, Princess," he said, "I just began working here a few days ago." As he talked, Ai noticed that he was actually rather cute.

"How old are you?" she asked him.

"Seventeen. My birthday was a few months ago," he seemed curious as to why she was so interested in him. Ai knew these were rather odd questions to be asking of a servant, but she was very interested in this new boy.

"My name is Haruki by the way," he informed her.

She held out her hand for him to shake, not exactly the most proper thing for a princess to do to a servant. He was hesitant to take it, but eventually did.

"Just call me Ai," she smiled at him.

He smiled back, "All right then."

**XX**

Zuko sighed and let himself fall back onto the bed. For the past week, night had become Zuko's favorite part of the day. It was the only time he got to forget about Azula.

Mai laid down on the bed beside him and put her head on his shoulder. They laid next to each other for a while without either of them saying a word. They both tried to empty their heads of everything that was happening. It didn't work.

"It'll all be over soon," Mai said in a slightly hopeful voice.

"I hope so," was all Zuko said before they went back to the silence.

**XX**

Aang sat down on the steps leading into the teashop. His family had been on his mind for days. The sun was setting, and he was leaving for the Fire Nation in the morning. He sat there for a couple of hours just thinking. He wondered what Katara and their children were doing. He hoped they were safe and nothing too big was happening while he was gone. His mind couldn't help but drift to Azula. The sooner she was taken care of, the better.

**XX**

Every time Azula had sneaked into the prison to see her father she'd marveled at just how stupid the guards seemed to be. She'd been able to sneak passed them without them ever suspecting a thing. Today, she'd succeeded in knocking out the current guard before he even knew what was happening. She'd made sure he hadn't seen her either, so they'd never have proof that it had been her, even if she was the prime suspect.

She smiled when she laid eyes on her father. "It's time," she said.

Ozai smiled evilly as Azula held up the keys that she'd stolen from the guard. Yes, this had been too easy really. She hadn't gotten to seriously hurt anyone, and breaking someone out of a prison cell with just the keys was a little boring. Even her pathetic uncle had smashed his way out of a cell. Unfortunately, they needed to escape unnoticed, so they needed to stay as quiet as possible.

Ozai followed Azula into the woods, free for the first time in twenty years. Now the time had come to take back what was rightfully theirs.

**Author's Note: At first, I wasn't sure how I felt about Ichiko and Hajime's conversation at the beginning, but I kept reading over it and decided to keep it that way. It grew on me I guess. Also, I'm not sure about Akatsuki's letter. I didn't know what an average nine year old boy would write. My little brother's ten, but he writes all the time, so I'm not sure if it's accurate to base it off him. I hope it sounded like something a ten year old would write.**

**Thanks gloomy maiko lover for reviewing last chapter!**

**I'd love to hear what you guys think about the couples. I know some of them are pretty obvious, but what do you think about them?**

**One last thing, I've started a blog to post all of my writing on. I'm currently in the process of posting this fanfic over there, and I plan to post original fiction on there too. If you're interested in checking it out, there's a link in my profile.**


	17. Crushes and Armies

**Author's Note: Another chapter in just over a week! Yay!**

Chapter 16: Crushes and Armies

It was the late afternoon when Aang saw the Fire Nation capital in the distance. Zuko hadn't known when to expect him, so he was a little surprised to see Aang gliding through the sky as he was taking a walk. Aang was a little unnerved at how tired and aggravated Zuko seemed. In the little time it had been since they'd seen each other, Zuko seemed to have been stretched to the limit.

"How are things here?" Aang asked Zuko as they walked through the palace together.

"I have some bad news actually," Zuko paused for a moment. He seemed to be thinking about how to break the bad news to Aang. "Ozai broke out of jail the other night. The guard was found knocked out. He's woken up, but he doesn't know who attacked him. The attacker obviously made sure they wouldn't be recognized, but we're almost positive it was Azula."

Aang sighed, "This isn't good. Who knows what they're up too. Have you gotten any leads to where they might be."

"Not yet," Zuko told Aang with regret in his voice. "We're searching though. We think it's only a matter of time before they let us know where they are."

"You're probably right," Aang said, "They'll want to fight us eventually. You have what they want at the moment, the throne, but that doesn't mean we shouldn't be looking for them now."

"I agree," said Zuko, "I have men and women searching for them all over the Fire Nation as we speak."

**XX**

"I've found at least twenty people so far that want to help us," Azula told her father as they sat in the forest under the cover of the trees. "Most of them were high ranking officers when you were Fire Lord and have since been demoted or kicked out the the military all together. They much preferred when you were in power."

"Excellent," Ozai smiled, "We'll need to gather more people though if we want to be successful."

"They told me they had friends that were interested as well," Azula informed him. "They're bringing them to meet with us. I don't think it will be that hard to get a fairly substantial number of soldiers. There are many in the Fire Nation who want you as their leader again. I wouldn't even put it past many of the current soldiers to turn on Zuko. It won't be that difficult to organize a full-scale rebellion against dear, old Zuzu." She smiled with evil glee as she spoke.

"Yes," Ozai smiled too, "We'll have the throne back in no time."

**XX**

"Ikuo!" Hajime repeated for what seemed like the millionth time. He hit his friend on the shoulder for good measure.

"What!" Ikuo snapped finally discovering that his best friend wanted his attention.

"You've been staring at Ayame for an awfully long time," Hajime smirked at his friend.

"I have not!" Ikuo said indignantly, "I wasn't staring at anyone."

Hajime rolled his eyes, "Of course you weren't." He continued after a moment of silence. "I don't understand why you won't admit that you like her. There's nothing wrong with it."

"I've known her since I was born," Ikuo answered, "We even used to bathe together as infants. It's weird."

Hajime considered Ikuo's words for a moment. His face scrunched up in mild disgust before saying, "Ew. Okay, that is a little weird." There was a moment of silence before Hajime realized something, "Wait! Ichiko and I were in those baths too... I am officially disgusted."

Ikuo laughed at his best friend, "Sorry to bring it up. Look on the bright side, we, and they, can't remember anything." He suddenly got serious and said, "But that's not the real problem. Honestly, I don't want to tell her how I feel and have her react the same way Ichiko reacted when you admitted your feelings to her."

"Thanks for bringing that up," Hajime said sarcastically.

"You're welcome," Ikuo smirked.

"I will convince you to tell her someday though," Hajime told Ikuo.

"Good luck with that," Ikuo said.

The two boys were oblivious to the conversation that was currently taking place between the two same girls they'd just been discussing. Ayame and Ichiko were sitting in the backyard of Ichiko's house. They had their backs against the stone wall of the house and were occasionally glancing at the two boys they could see under the trees in the distance.

"I just don't understand it," Ichiko was saying to Ayame, "Out of all the guys in the world, why would you possibly like my brother?"

"I don't think I had much say in the matter to be perfectly honest," Ayame snapped at Ichiko.

"No say in the matter?" Ichiko asked in disbelief, "Of course you had a say in the matter! No one's making you like him."

"No, but that doesn't mean I can just make myself not like him," Ayame said. She paused before saying, "And even if I could, make myself not like him I mean, I don't think I would."

Ichiko just shook her head in disbelief, "Whatever. If you want to be with my idiot of a brother than go ahead. I just hope you don't regret it."

"Well, in order to be with him," Ayame said, "He's going to have to ask me out."

"If you like him so much, why don't you just ask him out?" Ichiko asked.

Ayame's eyes moved downwards, and she spoke in a soft voice, "I'm too scared to tell him."

Ichiko looked at Ayame in shock. Ayame never got nervous around boys. She was always flirting and seemed to know exactly what to say to them. Ichiko never thought she'd see the day where Ayame would be scared to ask a boy out. "Wow, I never thought I'd hear you say that," she said in surprise.

"Neither did I," Ayame said.

"Well," said Ichiko, "If you're waiting for the idiot to make the first move, you're going to be waiting a long time."

**XX**

Mai found her son Akatsuki sitting in the library reading a book.

"Akatsuki," she called to him. Once she had his attention, she continued, "Two letters came for you today. They're both from the Southern Water Tribe." She smiled at her son when he jumped up in excitement and ran towards her.

"Really!" he asked excitedly as he took the letters from his mother.

Mai smiled at her son one last time before leaving him to read the letters on his own.

Akatsuki looked between the two letters. He couldn't decide which to read first. He figured the one with the messier handwriting was his best friend, Kuuya, and the one with the neater handwriting was from Kazuna. He wanted to open his best friend's first, but he couldn't help himself when he set Kuuya's on the desk and opened Kazuna's first instead.

He read it eagerly. She wanted him to write back! He hadn't actually thought she'd write him back. He'd figured that she'd just consider it weird that he'd sent her a letter and just throw it away.

He wasn't sure when exactly he'd begun liking Kazuna. When she'd first shown up in the Fire Nation after Azula's escape, he hadn't noticed anything different about his feelings for her. She was just a family friend, but by the time she returned to the Southern Water Tribe, he'd begun to feel differently. She had always been nice to him, and he thought she was the prettiest girl he'd ever seen.

He'd always thought that she just saw him as Ai's little brother and didn't really pay much attention to him. Her letter gave him a little hope. Maybe someday she'd see him in a different way.

**XX**

Azula and Ozai were able to gather many people who were willing to fight for them. There were a lot of Fire Nation citizens who had preferred Ozai's rule and were more than willing to help him get the throne back.

Many of these people were soldiers who'd lost their jobs after the war. Fire Lord Zuko had greatly downsized the military. He said it wasn't necessary to have such a large military when there was peace.

This had left many people without jobs. Many people who had once been soldiers were now homeless and living in the streets. They were undernourished but still good fighters from their years of training in what had been the largest and most powerful military in the world.

Ozai and Azula were confident that they could build up a larger army than Zuko currently had at his disposal. In addition to the past soldiers, they were able to find a great many more Fire Nation citizens willing to help.

It wasn't hard for them to travel through the Fire Nation and meet with people without being caught by anyone loyal to Zuko. Zuko probably wasn't even aware at just how fragile his hold on the nation was.

**Author's Note: So, I have an announcement. There are six chapters and an epilogue left of this fanfiction. I'm expecting to have all of the chapters posted in two months or maybe even less. I can't believe it. I've been working on this fanfiction for over two years! It's going to be so strange when it's done.**

**Thanks to Astropuppy and Kimjuni2 for reviewing the last chapter!**


	18. I Didn't Expect

**Author's Note: I got the chapter done in six days! That being said, this chapter was tough to write, and it ended up being kind of short. I hope you guys enjoy it though!**

Chapter 17: I Didn't Expect

Ichiko was tossing and turning in her bed for the fifth night in a row. She couldn't get the conversation she'd had with Hajime on the beach out of her head. Her parents were concerned that she was getting sick because she was so exhausted lately. The truth was that she just couldn't sleep.

Hajime filled her thoughts almost constantly which honestly made her nauseous. She was turning into one of _those_ girls. She hated the girls who did nothing but obsess over their latest crush or boyfriend (prime example: Ayame). She'd promised herself, and her friends, years ago that she wouldn't turn out like that, yet here she was unable to sleep because of Hajime. She almost hated him for it.

She had no choice but to finally admit to herself that she liked him. For the first time in her life, she was interested in a boy romantically. That didn't mean she was ready for a relationship though. There was no way she was going out with him. She may like him, but she wasn't doing that. She was still determined to stay single. She'd get over him eventually.

**XX**

"What are we going to do about this?" Aang asked Zuko. They were just leaving an important meeting. They'd gained information that Azula and Ozai were recruiting people for an army. The source wasn't aware of exactly how many people they had been able to get, but they felt it was a lot.

"I guess just wait," Zuko sighed, "Capturing them now won't do much good because there will be other people to deal with now. We'll still search for them of course, but even if we find them, we'll have more work cut out for us. I doubt he people they've recruited will just stand by and do nothing."

"Don't you think we should tell the Fire Nation people that something's happening as well?" Aang suggested, "We might be able to convince some people who would otherwise join Ozai and Azula to be on our side."

"It couldn't hurt," Zuko agreed, "We know Azula and Ozai are using propaganda. I'll see if we can get some flyers or something. We'll have to call another meeting about it."

"Great," Aang said sarcastically, "Yet another meeting."

Zuko smiled at his friend for what felt like the first time in days, "I couldn't agree more."

**XX**

Ayame watched as Ichiko paced in front of her. It was a strange sight to see Ichiko so nervous since she usually tried to hide it. Ayame sat patiently. She was beginning to get a little annoyed, but she didn't want Ichiko to snap at her for interrupting her pacing.

Finally, Ichiko turned to her, "Okay, don't laugh," she demanded of Ayame. Once Ayame had assured her that she wouldn't, Ichiko continued, "I already sent letters to Kazuna and Ai earlier this morning." Ayame noticed that Ichiko's cheeks had a pinkish hue to them. "I like Hajime."

Ayame smiled, "Is that it?" She continued when Ichiko nodded, "Ichiko, we've all known that for a long time."

"I know," said Ichiko, "But I've finally admitted it to myself. I can't stop thinking about him," she clenched her fists in frustration, "Gah! It's so frustrating."

Ayame couldn't help but chuckle a little, and Ichiko glared at her. "Ichiko, there's nothing wrong with that," Ayame assured her friend as she slipped an arm around her shoulders. "Now, when are you going to tell him?"

"Um," Ichiko murmured, "I'm not."

Ayame gasped in an overly theatrical way, "Ichiko! You have to tell him!"

Ichiko rolled her eyes at Ayame's theatrics, "No, I don't. I don't have to date him just because I like him."

Ayame was giving Ichiko a strange look. She didn't seem to understand what Ichiko was saying. She probably didn't. When Ayame liked a boy, she did everything she could to make that boy like her.

Finally, Ayame seemed to recover. "Fine," she said, "It's your business, so I can't make you do anything. That doesn't mean I'm not going to bug you about it constantly though."

Ichiko groaned and laid back on the grass. This was why she couldn't tell her friends anything.

**XX**

Aang's smile grew larger when the small village came into view. He and Zuko had decided that there wasn't much more Aang could do at the moment, and Aang was finally able to come home to be with his family. He'd sent a letter ahead, so they'd know he was coming. He could see his whole family waiting for him just outside of the village.

The younger children began running towards him, with the exception of Yuuga who was just beginning to walk, while Kazuna and Kuuya came over more slowly.

As soon as Aang's feet were on the ground, he was attacked by a mob of children. He collapsed back in the snow, laughing, as his children began climbing on him. Kazuna and Kuuya even joined the fray when they reached him. Somehow, things led to a snowball fight that even Katara joined in. Of course, the water benders had a very unfair advantage.

Later that evening, the reunited family sat around the fire place. Aang smiled as he looked at his family. He was finally home.

**XX**

Ai sat with Haruki in front of the pond on the palace grounds. They were feeding the turtle ducks together. They'd been spending most of their free time together since they'd met.

Ai loved spending time with him. She hadn't had a boyfriend in a couple of years. She'd been too busy learning from her father what she'd need to know to rule the nation to focus on boys. Part of her felt it wasn't a good idea to get attached to Haruki. There was too much going on at the moment, but she couldn't help being drawn to him. None of her past crushes had been this strong.

She watched him as he tore off a piece of bread and threw it to the turtle ducks. He'd found her sitting here once he got off duty about fifteen minutes ago and had brought some left over bread from the kitchen with him.

Ai wanted to say something about her feelings for him, but she was scared he wouldn't reciprocate. Maybe he just thought of her as a friend. Her being the next in line for the throne didn't help either. Most guys were usually intimidated by her. If her responsibilities weren't hard enough to deal with, her father being able to lock up or banish them didn't help either.

She was still debating whether to say something to him or not when Haruki himself spoke up, "We've been spending a lot of time together lately."

Ai just nodded. She wasn't sure what he was getting at.

Haruki continued, "It's just, when I came to work here I didn't expect your family to be like this."

"What do you mean?" Ai asked in confusion.

"I expected the Fire Lord and his family to be slightly stuck up to be honest. I definitely didn't think Princess Ai would want to spend time with me."

"My mother and father have always taught me that I'm no better than anyone else, no matter what my birth," she told him.

"I see that now," he said before slightly changing the topic, "There's also something else I didn't really expect." He turned away from her and focused his eyes on the turtle ducks. "I didn't expect I would fall for you." Ai could tell he was blushing slightly.

Her cheeks colored a little as well. "Really?" she asked. This was too good to be true.

He turned to her and nodded.

Ai smiled and said, "I like you too, Haruki."

Haruki smiled, "I guess that means you'll be my girlfriend then?"

Ai laughed and nodded, "Yes, I'd be happy to be your girlfriend."

They smiled at each other, and then Haruki leaned in to kiss Ai for the first time.

**Author's Note: Thanks gloomy maiko love and Kimjuni2 for reviewing the last chapter!**


	19. A Year of Fear

**Author's Note: This chapter takes place over the course of a year. At different points in the chapter you see _[number] months later_, that means that part of the chapter takes place that many months after the last chapter. Next chapter will pick up a year later, and that's when the rest of the story (excluding the epilogue) will take place. Also, this chapter is _extremely_ short. I'm going to work hard on making the next one an actually decent length. Enjoy!**

Chapter 18: A Year of Fear

Posters began appearing all over the Fire Nation. There were all different types. Some were wanted posters for Azula and Ozai. Others warned of the recruiting that the two were doing, telling the people of the lies they were spreading in order to convince others to join them.

Everyone knew now what was happening. Many people lived in fear of the future.

Others grew excited and began searching for Azula and Ozai on their own. They wanted to help return them to power.

The Fire Nation was slowly disintegrating into chaos. Even the other two nations began to fear what would happen. Zuko was doing all he could to keep the nation together, but that was becoming harder and harder. Many members of the military, people with government jobs, and even his palace staff were quitting their jobs. Some supported Azula and Ozai, and some were just scared of them and what would happen if they were associated with Zuko.

The Fire Nation's relations with the Earth Kingdom and Water Tribes became worse. The Earth Kingdom especially wanted nothing to do with the Fire Nation. They feared there would be another war and even began to build up their military.

Everything seemed to be falling apart.

**XX**

_Three months later_

"Why would you date him?" Ichiko asked Ayame as they left school one day, "I thought you liked Ikuo."

"I do," Ayame replied.

Ichiko looked at Ayame in confusion, "You never make any sense."

They were talking about Ayame's latest boyfriend. He'd asked her out at lunch, and to everyone's surprise, she'd said yes. Ichiko didn't even know the boy's name, and she was pretty sure that Ayame didn't either. None of it made sense. Why did she just randomly decide to date this boy?

Ikuo had been there to see it too. He'd looked shocked at first and then angrily stormed off, saying something about using the restroom.

"Ikuo hasn't said anything to me," Ayame tried to explain, "I thought that if I got a boyfriend he might finally ask me out."

Ichiko rolled her eyes, "I can't believe you're using that stupid jealousy thing. It never works. At least not the way you want it too. Either the guy you like isn't brave enough or really doesn't care. If he does get jealous, he's still unlikely to say anything to you."

"You're not going to get onto me for using the other guy though?" Ayame asked. This also confirmed to Ichiko that Ayame still had no clue who this guy was since she referred to him as "the other guy."

"Of course not," Ichiko replied, "I could care less about him." After all, caring had never been one of Ichiko's strong traits. "I just think this is a stupid idea."

"You always think my ideas are stupid," Ayame said a little indignantly.

"Probably because they always are," Ichiko muttered as the continued toward their homes.

It turned out that Ichiko had been right. Ayame had dated the guy for about a week when she finally dumped him. Ikuo, instead of admitting his feelings, had begun to outright ignore the fact that Ayame even existed. As soon as she announced the break up, things seemed to return to normal. Neither Ayame nor Ikuo had yet to admit their feelings to each other. On that note, neither had Hajime or Ichiko.

**XX**

_Six months later_

"He refuses to meet with me," Zuko told Aang. They were in the same room that meetings about the war had been held about two decades ago. Now, it was being used for somewhat similar reasons.

Aang was in the Fire Nation for about a week to meet with Zuko. Zuko had asked him to come after the Earth King refused to listen to Zuko. Aang's job had become very hard lately since the Earth Kingdom and Northern Water Tribe weren't wanting anything to do with the Fire Nation anymore. Aang felt, that if he didn't live in the Southern Water Tribe and have such a strong influence there, it would probably be siding with it's sister tribe as well.

"I've already tried speaking to the Earth King," Aang sighed, "He refuses to listen. I'll head to the North Pole tomorrow and see what can be done. I can't say I have much hope though. What little trust the Earth Kingdom and Water Tribes had in the Fire Nation after the war has been all but broken."

Zuko nodded in agreement, "I can't say I blame them for hating us, but their hate is blinding them to the truth. We're not their enemy anymore. Ozai and Azula are."

"Hopefully," Aang said, "They'll see that soon."

**XX**

_Ten months later_

Azula nodded her head in approval as she watched a group of soldiers train. The amount of training they'd had was sparse as they had to be careful that they weren't found. Often, small groups of them would meet in their town and practice together while Azula and Ozai traveled and made sure everything was going well.

Even though they weren't getting formal training, their soldiers were determined and talented. Azula was confident that the odds were in their favor.

**XX**

_Almost twelve months later_

Ai smiled contently as she rested her head on her boyfriend's shoulder. It was a week away from their one-year anniversary. She couldn't believe how long it had been!

Even though she still felt fearful every time she thought about Azula and Ozai, this had been an amazing year. Haruki always knew how to make her feel better when she began to feel scared. She'd been surprised when she'd realized that she was in love with him. It was about a month earlier. He'd been teasing her about being a princess (one of his favorite things to do) when it had just suddenly hit her. She hadn't told him yet for fear that he didn't feel the same way.

"What are you thinking about?" Haruki asked her, interrupting her thoughts.

"Just the past year," she answered. It was basically true. She was just leaving out the part about her realizing her love for him.

He smiled down at her. "It has been an amazing year. Hasn't it?"

"Mm hm," she murmured in agreement, "The best." She lifted her head from his shoulder and kissed him. This continued for a while until Haruki eventually pulled away.

"Ai, I need to tell you something," he said as he took her face in his hands.

"Okay," she said anxious to hear what he had to say.

"I love you." He said it quickly, and it took a moment for it to register in Ai's mind. When it did, a huge smile spread across her face.

"I love you too, Haruki." Haruki seemed both happy and relieved at her words. He pulled her in for another kiss.

Later that night as Ai was lying in bed, she marveled over how the past year had been the best and yet most terrifying year of her life. She had the most amazing boyfriend in the world, but it was only a matter of time before her crazed aunt and grandfather tried to ruin everything.

**Author's Note: Thank you Kimjuni2 for reviewing last chapter!**


	20. Love Isn't a Weakness

**Author's Note: So much for this chapter being longer. That didn't happen.**

**Also, I'd planned on having this chapter up last weekend, but school was crazy last week. Pretty much all I did was go to school, come home and do homework, and then sleep. Then, my whole weekend was focused on Harry Potter (I loved the movie!), and seeing my best friend for the first time since August. So, most of this chapter was written over this week. I hope you guys enjoy it!**

Chapter 19: Love Isn't a Weakness

"I have some news," Aang told his children, "We're all going to the Fire Nation for a visit in a week."

"All of us?" Sugi asked in excitement.

"Yes," Katara told her daughter, "All of us. Even Aunt Toph and Uncle Sokka, Suki and Kaimu, and Ty Lee and Haru are coming with their kids."

"This is awesome!" Kazuna yelled in excitement. She had seen Ichiko and Ayame just a few months earlier, but none of them had seen Ai in over a year now. With so much happening in the Fire Nation, none of their families had been very willing to travel there.

"But I thought you guys said it was too dangerous," Saki said, "Why are you letting us go now."

Aang spoke up, "It's been so long since you guys have seen Mai, Zuko, Ai, Akatsuki, and Akiyoshi, and Yuuga can't even remember them," he motioned to the now two-year-old child that was watching the conversation with interest, "Your mother and I think it's about time we went again."

"Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!" Kazuna repeated to her parents as she got up to hug them. This was difficult since there were also seven other children trying to do the same thing. She was so excited to see Ai again. She was also looking forward to seeing Akatsuki. They'd been writing to each other a lot over the past year, and she couldn't wait to actually get to talk to him.

**XX**

Kazuna ran towards Ai as soon as she came into sight. "I'm so glad to see you!" she exclaimed as she wrapped her arms around her friend. Ayame soon joined in the hug, but Ichiko stayed back. After a few moments, Kazuna turned to her, "Come on, Ichiko." She held out her arm, gesturing for Ichiko to enter the hug as well. Ichiko just shook her head with a look on her face that said, "no way." Finally, Kazuna was able to pull her into the hug with Ai and Ayame's help.

"You guys are such saps," Ichiko said when they'd finally broken apart, but she had a smile on her face as she said it.

Kazuna couldn't wait to catch up with Ai, but as soon as Ai had begun telling them the latest about her boyfriend, whom they had yet to meet, Kazuna caught sight of Akatsuki who was currently in a conversation with her younger brother Kuuya. He didn't seem to be paying much attention though. He was looking her way, and smiled as soon as he saw that she was looking at him. She smiled back and waved which caused Akatsuki to blush a little.

Ai leaned over to whisper into Kazuna's ear, "He's been talking about you all the time this past year. He's completely infatuated with you."

Kazuna found herself blushing at Ai's words. It wasn't anymore than she'd expected. After a exchanging a few letters with Akatsuki, she'd thought that he might have a crush on her. Still, she wasn't exactly sure how to handle it now that they would be staying in the same place. She liked him as a friend and everything, but he was only ten years old after all.

**XX**

Azula proudly stood as they watched the army marching past them. It had taken over a year, but the time had finally come. A month ago, Ozai had told Azula that he felt that their army was ready to fight Zuko and his army.

It was taking a while to gather their army together since they were so scattered across the nation. They had gradually been gathering troops as they neared the capital. They weren't far now, and they had a fairly substantial number of their troops with them already. It wouldn't take long before they were noticed by one of Zuko's men. It didn't matter. They weren't hiding anymore. Judging from the size and talent of their troops, Zuko would need all the extra time he could get anyway.

**XX**

"My Lord," Zuko turned as he heard one of the servants address him, "General Eun Mi wishes to speak to you sir. She's says it can't wait. It's something about Ozai and Azula."

Zuko hadn't even waited for the guard to finish speaking. He took off towards the room where Eun Mi, one of the top ranking generals in the Fire Nation army, was waiting for him.

"You have information?" Zuko asked her before the door had even swung shut behind him.

General Eun Mi looked at him with a grave look on her face. "Yes," she began, "Azula and Ozai are leading their army towards us as we speak. I already have troops surrounding the capital, and even more on their way to meet them. If everything goes well, they'll be defeated before they even reach the city."

"But things never tend to go well when it's war," Zuko said with sadness in his voice.

"No, they don't," the general agreed.

"All right then," Zuko said as he started towards the door, "Continue doing your job. I'm going to have the palace evacuated. We need to get the servants and especially the children out. Then, my friends and I will join you."

General Eun Mi nodded and replied, "Yes, sir," but Zuko was already gone. She hurried back to her soldiers as well.

**XX**

The children were told they had fifteen minutes to gather some of their things to take with them. They were being taken to a bunker underneath the palace. It was the same one Fire Lord Ozai had hidden in during the Day of Black Sun. It wasn't the most ideal place since Ozai and Azula would know where they were, but it was going to be heavily guarded, and they didn't think even Azula and Ozai's strong army would be able to break in. They didn't have any earth or metal benders like Toph.

Hajime was quickly gathering his things when he heard a knock at his open bedroom door. He looked up and was shocked to see Ichiko standing there with a small bag at her feet.

"I need to talk to you," she said. Hajime could hear the fear in her voice.

"What is it?" he asked her as he sat down on his bed. He patted the space beside him, motioning for her to sit there.

She came over slowly and left a fairly large gap in between them. "I've been thinking," she began and then continued slowly, "I've been kind of stupid this past year. I didn't want to admit my feelings for you because somehow I thought that would make me weak. Then, Ai said something to me last night that made me realize something. She told me I shouldn't be scared of love. She said that was what caused Azula and Ozai's downfall. They didn't have anyone who loved them enough to help them when they needed it. They only had themselves to rely on. That made me realize that love isn't a weakness. It makes you stronger. Afterward, I wanted to tell you the truth, but I couldn't get the courage to. Then, we find out that Ozai and Azula are coming, and I had to tell you I really did like you before..."

She trailed off and just looked at Hajime. He just looked back just like he had been through her whole speech, just watching her.

After a moment, Hajime leaned over and kissed her. He offered her a small smile once they pulled apart, and he took her hand. "Come on," he said as he stood up and pulled her up with him, "We need to get going."

They kept their hands linked together as they went to find the others.

**XX**

Akatsuki fumbled with the hem of one of his sleeves as he walked toward Kazuna's bedroom door. He couldn't believe he was doing this.

Kazuna glanced up at him as he knocked. She smiled at him, but he could still see the fear in her eyes. "Hi Akatsuki," she greeted him, "You can come in if you want. I'm almost ready."

He walked over to her bed as his knees shook. He couldn't believe he was going to go through with this. He decided to get it over with quickly. "Kazuna, I have a crush on you," he said so quickly that the words were barely distinguishable, but he knew that Kazuna had understood because she froze.

Kazuna turned towards Akatsuki with a look of shock on her face. "What?" she asked in disbelief. She'd never thought that he'd admit his feelings like this. What was she supposed to say?

Akatsuki didn't answer her. He just looked towards the floor and tried to keep from blushing even harder.

After a moment or two, Akatsuki felt the mattress dip down beside him. His blush grew darker when he felt Kazuna's hand on his shoulder.

"Akatsuki," she began, "You're only ten, and I'm sixteen. That's a big age difference."

Akatsuki said nothing. He just continued staring at the floor. Kazuna's room had a rather nice carpet.

"Look," Kazuna continued after an awkward silence, "I'm too old for you right now, but who knows what will happen when we're older."

Akatsuki finally looked up at Kazuna in surprise. "But I'm not guaranteeing anything either," she quickly added.

"Still," Akatsuki spoke with a slight smile, "I can hope."

Kazuna smiled back at him. "Come on," she said as she stood up, "We need to hurry. We don't want the others waiting for us. It wouldn't be too great if Azula and Ozai came before we were in the bunker."

As Akatsuki followed Kazuna out of the room, he marveled over how happy he now felt even though his home was getting ready to be attacked by his own grandfather and aunt. He knew he'd be able to win Kazuna over in time.

**Author's Note: Sadly, no one reviewed last chapter.**

**So, next chapter will may contain some fighting not much. After that though, the remaining chapters (not including the epilogue) will contain fighting. It'll be interesting to see how those chapters go since my past attempts at writing fighting/battle scenes have been pretty horrible.**


	21. The Battle Begins

**Author's Note: I wanted to get this chapter up over a week ago, but because of work, it didn't happen. Hopefully, the next chapter won't take as long. Enjoy!**

Chapter 20: The Battle Begins

Ikuo spotted Ayame ahead of him, and he ran up to meet her. Ayame turned towards him, startled at the sound he was making in the otherwise quiet hallway.

"I see you're ready," Ikuo murmured as they walked. It was a somewhat odd thing to say, but his mind didn't usually want to work right when he was around Ayame.

"Yep," she replied a little shortly. He could tell by the look on her face that she was in an extremely bad mood. Who wasn't right now?

Suddenly, he knew he had to do what he'd been to scared to do for the past year. The problem was his mouth and vocal cords were refusing to cooperate with each other.

They continued down the hall in complete silence. It was beginning to become slightly awkward. Finally, Ikuo gave up on even trying to form words. He put his hand on Ayame's shoulder to prevent her from moving forward. She looked up at him in surprise. Her eyes widened as she saw him beginning to lean towards her. Before she could react any further, his mouth was on hers.

He could feel her freeze in shock as soon as their lips were touching. For a second or two, he thought she would pull away. He wouldn't have been surprised if she'd slapped him and stormed off. She surprised him by actually deepening the kiss after her initial shock had worn off.

After a moment or two, Ayame broke off the kiss and crossed her arms across her chest. "About time, you idiot."

"What?" he asked her in slight confusion.

"I've been waiting for you to do that for over a year," she explained in exasperation.

"Really?" he asked in shock.

"Yes, really!" Ayame threw her hands up in frustration, "Are you capable of speaking more than one word?"

"Yes," Ikuo wanted to add more, so he could prove his point, but nothing seemed to want to come out.

Ayame seemed to have become amused by now. She was smiling at him slightly as he tried to figure everything out in his head.

"Don't you have something you want to ask me?" Ayame said with barely contained laughter in her voice.

"Huh?" Ikuo asked. Then it dawned on him. "Oh! Ayame, will you go out with me?"

"Finally," Ayame said half in exasperation and half in happiness, "Yes, Ikuo. I would love to go out with you."

"Great," Ikuo replied as a large smile spread across her face.

"I see we're back to the one word responses," Ayame smirked as she took his hand and led him down the hallway again. She was beginning to give his sister a run for her money in the sarcasm department.

He walked happily down the hallway with his new girlfriend. For a moment, he'd managed to completely forget why they had both even been heading down the hallway in the same direction anyway.

**XX**

"Make sure you don't leave here," Zuko told the children sternly.

They had all finally gathered in the bunker. The children were all huddled in a tight group on the ground. They seemed to feel safer if they were in a small, condensed group. Their parents stood over them as they gave them a quick lecture over safety, as if they could get away with anything while they were locked away in this place.

"There will be guards outside of the bunker," Aang explained, "Don't allow anyone in, even if they claim to be on our side. One of us," he motioned to the other adults standing around him, "will come and get you all. Don't open that door unless you know for sure that one of us is on the other side."

The kids all nodded. The younger ones were all crying while the older ones struggled to hold their own tears back.

"Haruki will be right outside the door," Zuko continued, "He'll let you know if anything happens. You can trust him."

Zuko looked at Haruki, who was standing near the door, as he spoke. Haruki looked down, unable to meet his girlfriend's father's eyes.

The children exchanged tearful goodbyes with their parents before they left, locking them in the bunker.

"How long do you think we'll be in here?" Kuuya whispered. There was really no need to be quiet. The enemy was no where near them, at least not yet, and even if the enemy was right outside the door, they'd have to shout to be heard. Still, all of them felt compelled to whisper.

"I don't know," Ai replied, "But it will probably be a while. Anyone know of a way to pass the time?"

They all looked around at each other. No one said anything.

"All right then," Ai continued after a pause. She sighed in exasperation, "I guess we'll just sit here then."

**XX**

Azula's face broke into a cruel smile as she began to make out the outline of the palace in the distance. She turned towards her father and saw a similar cruel expression on his own face. He grinned at her, "Finally, the time is here to take back what is rightfully ours."

She allowed herself a small chuckle. "It will be a day to remember, father," she said as she spotted Zuko's army marching towards them.

Ozai also allowed himself a small, cruel laugh before yelling, "Attack!"

**XX**

"What do you think is happening?" Ayame whispered to the others. They were still huddled in a tight group.

"No idea," Hajime answered.

Kazuna held her two-year-old brother, Yuuga, on her lap as she tried to calm him down. He hadn't stopped crying since their parents had left them there. Ichiko felt as if she was about to lose her mind from all of the crying. It didn't help that the four-year-old twins, Toya and Sugi, also looked close to tears at the moment.

Ai reached over for Yuuga. "You need a break," she explained when Kazuna gave her a questioning look. It was true that Kazuna was beginning to tire of her useless attempts at comfort, but she was still reluctant to hand him over to Ai. Nevertheless, a moment later when Kuuya's cries seemed to become even louder, she handed him over to her friend.

"I hate being in here!" Ichiko said through clenched teeth.

"We all do," Ikuo send a glare towards his twin sister.

"What do you think the chances are of Haruki letting us out?" Ichiko asked Ai who would obviously know him the best.

"I'd say none," Ai answered as she hugged Kuuya to herself, "He wouldn't disobey my father. He knows he'd never see me again, whether I live or die, if he did. In fact, he probably wouldn't live." Then, she went back to comforting Kuuya.

"Wouldn't he want to listen to you though?" Ichiko continued on, "I mean, you could get mad at him too."

"I think I'd be a lot more forgiving than my father the Fire Lord," Ai said.

Ichiko sighed, "There's no way we're getting out of here, is there?"

"I would say not," said Hajime as he squeezed his girlfriend's hand in an attempt at comforting her.

"Hey!" Akatsuki exclaimed as his head suddenly jerked up from where it had been resting on his hand, "Ikuo, has you're mom taught you any metal bending?"

"A little. Why?" Ikuo asked before it finally dawned on him what Akatsuki meant. "No way! I'm not any good yet. It won't work."

"I don't care," Ichiko said with sudden excitement in her voice as she stood up, "You're trying it." She grabbed a fistful of Ikuo's clothes and pulled him up. "If you screw this up, you're no longer my brother."

"If that's the case," Ikuo grumbled as he made his way towards the door, "I'll screw up on purpose."

**XX**

It was a scene of utter chaos. Everywhere you looked there seemed to be dead bodies. Neither side seemed to have a higher death toll than the other, not that it was easy to count from the emaciated bodies that covered the ground all over the capital city.

A spectator of the battle would view two very well-matched forces fighting in a battle that seemed to be going no where. The Fire Nation Army had numbers on their side, but the rebels made up for that with their determination. It seemed that the forces would destroy each other and leave no one left to actually be declared a winner.

In the five hours that had past, the Fire Nation Army had stopped the rebels from advancing further into the capital, but they hadn't succeeded in pushing them back either.

At this point, there was no telling which way this battle would go.

**Author's Note: Thanks Astropuppy for reviewing last chapter!**

**Only two chapters and an epilogue left!**


	22. Be Careful

**A/N: I know, it's been over a month. Why was this chapter not up sooner? I'm not happy with it. At all. Here it is though. I hope you enjoy it.**

Chapter 21: Be Careful

Zuko glared as he met his father's eyes. Ozai was about twenty feet away and seemed to have been just waiting for his son to make an appearance. Zuko didn't pay his wife and friends any attention as he made his way towards his father. In the same manner, Ozai didn't seem to notice Azula smirking at Zuko behind him. The two men's eyes never left the other's glare.

Aang followed closely behind Zuko. It wasn't that he doubted his friend's ability, but no one could take on both Azula and Zuko at the same time.

There was a tense moment as the four of them just stood facing each other. They were poised to strike at any moment, but none seemed to want to make the first move.

Then, Azula, always eager for an opportunity to fight Zuko, struck first. She sent a blast of fire straight toward Zuko. Zuko noticed it just second before it would make contact with him. I bent his own shield of fire to stop Azula's from touching him.

This seemed to set the ball rolling. Suddenly, Aang shot a blast of air at Ozai and Azula. The air pushed them both back from Zuko and Aang about twenty feet. This gave Aang enough time to glance at Zuko quickly at make sure he wasn't injured before Ozai and Azula could strike again.

Azula recovered quickly and was soon shooting fire and Aang and Zuko again. As the battle waged on, Azula seemed to be holding her own against Zuko and Aang, who wasn't using the Avatar state.

Ozai hung back. Even with his fire bending gone and having spent many years in prison, he was still very agile. He wasn't attacking anyone, but he was easily able to avoid any attack that came his way. Aang found it odd that Ozai was out in the open instead of hidden away somewhere safe. Unless Ozai had some way of fighting that he just hadn't shown yet. With this in mind, Aang fought his way past Azula towards the past Fire Lord.

**XX**

Mai ducked as a sword was swung at her. As soon as it was gone, she threw a shuriken straight towards the rebel carrying it. He soon found himself stuck to the ground. As he hurriedly tried to free his clothes from the weapon, Mai set her sights on a different target.

**XX**

As soon as he spotted the rebel running towards him, Sokka reared his sword back. He brought it down as the person came into range. His sword clanked against the man's helmet. Sokka knew the man wasn't dead, but he appeared to be unconscious. Sokka did a quick scan of the area, and saw Toph fighting a large group of people. He threw his boomerang that way and watched it slice the arm of one of the rebels. He ran forward to catch his boomerang as it returned to him.

**XX**

Toph grinned to herself as she felt one rebel collapse after something hit him in the head. She could only assume it was Sokka's boomerang. Her suspicions were confirmed when she felt him catch the object as it soared back to him. Toph brought up a block of earth directly in a group of rebel's path. They didn't have much time to react and ended up slamming right into the wall. Then, she brought up a block of earth and sent it flying towards another group of rebels. She smiled as she thought about how much she'd missed this.

**XX**

Haru quickly pivoted as the rebel attempted to pierce him with a spear. He earth bended a large rock towards the rebel from behind. The rebel had no clue what was coming towards him until he'd been knocked unconscious.

**XX**

Ty Lee was running from three rebels when she spotted a column holding up the awning of a nearby store. She grabbed it and used it to swing herself around and back towards the men. She knocked them right off their feet. Ty Lee let go and angled herself so that she landed on her feet. She quickly blocked the rebel's chakra before they were able to move. She smiled to herself before getting ready for the other group of rebels coming towards her.

**XX**

Kaimu slashed his knife through the air, but was unsuccessful in hitting his mark. The rebel had jumped out of range seconds before the knife would have sliced his skin open. Swearing in frustration, Kaimu ran after the rebel as fast as his feet would take him. His knife connected with nothing but air a few times until it finally found flesh. The rebel's neck poured blood as he collapsed to the ground.

**XX**

Katara whirled around with the water creating a circle around her as she moved. She made it into a whip and struck the nearest rebel who went flying backwards from the pressure. She continued to move the water whip out as she spun and succeeded in hitting multiple rebels. After completing a full circle, she ran towards another group of rebels ahead of her.

**XX**

Suki twirled her fans around as she ran through the group of rebels. She spun and kicked, knocking three of them out almost at once. She continued through the group. More and More kept coming. It seemed almost never ending.

**XX**

"Well, that didn't work," Ai said matter of factly as Ikuo sank to the floor with his back against the door.

Ikuo had spent the last fifteen minutes attempting to metal bend the door unsuccessfully. He had managed to make a small dent in it but nothing major. He apparently needed to work on his metal bending skills.

"What are we going to do now?" Ayame sighed as she flopped onto her back.

"There's nothing we can do," Ai said, "We're just going to have to wait here."

Ichiko let out a loud, frustrated groan, "I hate this! I want to be out there!"

Hajime laid his hand on her shoulder, "We all do, but there's no way to get out of here."

"There has to be," Ikuo was looking around as if an escape would suddenly present itself, "We just need to think harder."

Saki rolled her eyes at the older children. "Isn't it obvious," she scoffed. Everyone turned to look at her in confusion. She raised her hand to point towards an air vent high on the wall. "Honestly, do any of you read. Everyone escapes through air vents."

They all looked at each other. Finally, Ichiko spoke in disbelief, "How did a five year old think of that when we didn't?"

"So, we'll go through the air vents then," Ai stood up.

"I'm coming," Saki said with excitement in her voice.

"Absolutely not!" Kazuna yelled at her little sister.

"But I'm the one who thought of the air vents!" Saki whined in the beginnings of a temper tantrum.

"You're only five," exclaimed Kazuna.

"You're only fourteen!"

"Saki," Ai began, "I agree with Kazuna. You need to stay here for now. You don't know enough bending to help. It wouldn't take long for you to get hurt."

Saki crossed her arms in anger and frustration as she plopped down on the floor and began to pout. The other young children began to speak up as well. They also wanted to go.

"I'm sorry, you guys," Ai addressed the group, "But none of you are going. The six of us," here she motioned towards Ichiko, Ikuo, Hajime, Kazuna, and Ayame, "are the only ones that stand any chance out there, and honestly, we don't even stand much of a chance."

The others began to quiet down. For a moment there was just silence. Then, Akiyoshi jumped up and ran to hug his sister. "Be careful," he whispered.

"I will be," she whispered back.

Soon, all of the siblings were in group hugs. Ichiko and Ikuo, who were in a rare moment of showing they actually cared for each other, even pulled Ayame into their hug, not wanting her to feel left out. After a few minutes, everyone began to break apart, and the six oldest began lifting themselves up into the air vent.

**A/N: I hope next chapter will be better especially since it's the _final_ chapter. I can't believe it. I only have one more chapter and an epilogue, and then this story is over. It's so weird.**


	23. What's Life Without

**Author's Note: I know I always have excuses and apologies at the beginning of these chapters. This semester as honestly been the busiest time of my life. Ever. On Monday, I take the AP test for AP biology. I really hope to have a lot more free time after that's over. Two and a half weeks from now, school ends, and I get even more free time. That definitely means more writing.**

**Although I still have some problems with it, I'm really proud of this chapter. I think it may be the longest chapter yet. I hope you guys enjoy it!**

Chapter 22: What's Life Without a Few Near Death Experiences?

"How long does this vent go on for?" They'd been crawling for what felt like hours, but in reality was only twenty minutes.

Ai, who was in the lead, glanced back at the questioner, Ayame, when she heard the question. "I can't even see another opening," she answered.

Ichiko groaned, "Great. We're going to be stuck in here until after the fighting ends." She turned so that she was sitting with her back up against the wall of the vent.

"If you don't keep moving, then we will be," Hajime told his girlfriend as he attempted to crawl around her, which was not an easy task in so small of an area.

"Weren't you the one who was most eager to get out of the bunker?" Kazuna asked her best friend as she too crawled around her.

"I didn't think it would take so long," Ichiko grumbled as she began to crawl again, this time at the end of the line, behind Kazuna. "I hate closed in spaces," she continued to complain as they made their way through the metal chamber.

A few minutes later, after Ai pointed out a spot of light in the distance, Ayame exclaimed, "That has to be the way out!"

"Sh!" Ai warned, "We don't know what's going on out there. It's better if we stay quiet. Otherwise, they could ambush us when we get out. When we get near the opening, let me go first. If I think it's safe, I'll motion for you to come." The others nodded in agreement. Ai quietly crawled towards the opening while trying to remain quieter than she'd ever been in her life. Light streamed in, and she had to squint as she came to it. Carefully peaking around the edge of the opening, she was unable to detect anyone. A little less cautiously, she crawled directly in front of the vent and peered out. She turned and motioned behind her, "It's safe. I can't see anyone. It looks like the vents led us about half a mile from the bunker."

"Half a mile?" Ayame asked with disbelief, "We had to have been crawling for a lot longer than that."

"It was a rather winding tunnel," Ikuo rolled his eyes beside her. Ayame shot him an aggravated glare which caused him to look a little sheepish for his smart ass comment.

Turning back to Ai, Ayame continued, "So, where are we exactly then?"

"I think we're at the very edge of the capital," Ai peered out again, "We're definitely far away from most of the fighting. I can see a few people fighting from here, but they're far off in the distance. I think we could walk around and go completely unnoticed."

"Still," Kazuna said as she crawled towards Ai, so she could see for herself, "We should try to be inconspicuous. We don't want to take any chances of being caught." They all shuddered at the thought of the last time they'd been held captive.

Ai took a deep, calming breath. "Well, here we go," she said as she began to pry the metal covering off of the opening. She ambled through quickly with Kazuna directly behind her. They others followed soon after, and they began setting off towards the fighting.

It wasn't long before they began seeing evidence of a recent battle. They spotted dropped weapons, patches of blood, and even a few corpses of soldiers who had evidently not lasted long in the battle. What really distressed them was the abandoned arm that they found lying on the ground. Nothing tested their resolve to continue on more than that sight, but still, they went.

**XX**

Ozai's mouth formed a smirk as he saw the Avatar running towards him. He internally let out a laugh at the determined look on his opponent's face. He seemed to think that Ozai would be an easy opponent considering his lack of fire bending. The Avatar didn't know that Ozai was perfectly capable of putting up a fight bending or no bending, and he still hadn't forgiven the person responsible for his lack of bending.

Ozai waited moments before the Avatar was directly in front of him to pull out a small dagger. At first, it managed to go unnoticed by the Avatar, who wasn't expected Ozai to be carrying a weapon. The Avatar dodged the dagger, missing it by inches. He directed a gust of air towards the hand holding the dagger, hoping to knock it free from Ozai's hand. However, Ozai had been expecting such an attack, and he managed to maintain a firm grip on his only weapon.

Realizing his first attempt hadn't worked, the Avatar removed enough water from the air to freeze the dagger and Ozai's hand together. Ozai growled in frustration and tried to shatter the ice by banging it against the wall of a building. He grunted in pain when the ice refused to break.

Aang allowed himself a small smirk at the ex-Fire Lord's pain. He used Ozai's moment of distraction to also freeze his feet to the ground. Ozai seemed to have forgotten he had the ability to freeze things because of his water bending. This didn't seem like it was going to be a fair fight.

**XX**

Taking advantage of a brief moment when Zuko was distracted, Azula glanced around the city that had been converted into a battle field. She glanced Ty Lee fighting twenty feet away and smirked. It was time for the two old friends to get reacquainted with each other. She turned her attention back to Zuko just in time to see him return to a fighting stance. Azula knew that the Avatar and Ozai were continuing to battle behind her, if only she could get Zuko to join them and leave her free to fight Ty Lee. That would never work though. Zuko wouldn't just let her go. Azula quickly calculated another plan. She sent a quick blast of fire back at Zuko. It was just enough to distract him for the second she needed to sprint in Ty Lee's direction. Zuko blocked the fire easily. He didn't understand why Azula would have sent such a pathetic blast of fire his way. Then, he saw the direction she was heading. Zuko rushed after her.

When Ty Lee's current opponent saw Azula coming, he gave a sigh of relief. He was happy to finally be done battling such a tough opponent. He quickly made himself scarce when Ty Lee's attention shifted to the blast of fire sent her way from Azula.

As soon as Ty Lee saw the blue flames, she felt a wave of dread wash over her. Facing her childhood best friend was not something she wished to do. She flipped through the air to avoid Azula's fire. She began doing many complicated moves in order to get away from Azula's attacks. Azula knew what all of Ty Lee's weaknesses were. She wasn't letting Ty Lee get anywhere near her. Ty Lee wasn't able to preform any attacks of her own.

Zuko was just seconds away from reaching the pair when a hand suddenly grabbed him from behind. At first, he was startled and, thinking it was a rebel, started to attack. When he turned to face his wife though, he quickly extinguished the flames coming from his hands.

"Mai!" Zuko yelled in anger, "What did you think you were doing! I could have attacked you!"

Mai rolled her eyes, "You realized it was me in time. I was fine." Before Zuko could respond, she continued, "Go help Aang with Ozai. I'll help Ty Lee fight Azula."

Zuko glanced to both pairs before turning back to Mai. "Are you sure you want to face Azula?" he asked with slight concern in his voice.

"I have to," Mai told him as she watched Ty Lee continue to dodge Azula's attacks. "You and Katara got to fight her last time. Now it's Ty Lee's and my turn." Zuko nodded in understanding and rushed off toward Aang, leaving Mai to run to Ty Lee's aid.

Azula and Ty Lee didn't even notice as Mai approached them. Mai shot a shuriken at Azula while her back was turned. Azula suddenly found herself flying forward. The blade struck a wall, and Azula found herself pinned there by her left sleeve. Mai quickly threw another shuriken, attempting to pin Azula's other arm, but this time Azula was prepared. She was able to maneuver herself so that the blade harmlessly hit the wall. What Azula didn't see was Ty Lee sneaking up to her. Before Azula could right herself, Ty Lee punched her in the right arm, rendering it useless.

In retaliation, Azula kicked her right leg towards Ty Lee and sent a blast of fire. Ty Lee, who had been expecting something of the sort, jumped out of the way. Another one of Mai's blades sunk into the fabric of Azula's pants. Now, Azula was almost completely defenseless. She didn't even attempt to use her left leg. She tried in vain to rip her sleeve from the grip of Mai's weapon. The sleeve gave a little, leaving a small tear, but she was still attached to the wall. She looked up at her old best friends as they advanced upon her.

**XX**

It wasn't long before the kids encountered a small battle taking place. They crept along quietly, trying to conceal their presence. Within moments of their approach, the rebel soldier had slashed the Fire Nation soldier's throat. The children's gasp of absolute horror alerted the soldier of their presence.

"Well, it seems I've found the jack pot," the woman smirked, "Your parents would be devastated if something happened to you, wouldn't they?" She slowly began advancing towards them, but they held their ground. They were determined to prove their bravery. They wouldn't let it turn out like last time. Besides, what could a random soldier hold against the ex-Fire Princess Azula.

They were ready as the first blast of fire came their way. Ai sent her own stream of fire towards the rebel. They collided in the air, and the children found themselves knocked to the ground as a wave of heat blasted towards them.

Once the flames had cleared, the children saw that the rebel had also been knocked down. She was middle-aged, and this kept her from getting up as quickly as the children. While she attempted to regain her footing, Ikuo rumbled the earth beneath her feet, making it even harder for her to stand. The rebel slowly straightened up, but she soon found her feet encased in rock. Ikuo smirked as the rebel growled in anger. She attempted to blast him with fire, but the flames weren't very deadly as fire bending is a style that relies heavily on the use of the bender's feet.

The rebel began to realize that she was in a bad situation. Her techniques were now limited, and it was six against one. She had to force herself not to panic. Panic would only make the situation worse. She concentrated on creating the biggest flames she could manage using only her upper body movement.

The next stream of flames were able to travel farther, but the children were prepared. Kazuna, who always carried a pouch of water with her, bent a wave of the liquid over the flames streaming from the rebel's left hand. Meanwhile, Ai was able to conquer her own flames to block the one's issuing from the rebel's right hand. As soon as the flames were gone, Ikuo shook the earth beneath the rebel's feet yet again. This time the rebel lost her balance, and Ikuo was able to in case her hands in the dirt. Now she was forced to remain on all fours, defenseless.

For a moment, the six of them all looked at each other as the rebel hung her head in shame. She couldn't believe she'd been beaten by children. After a moment or two, Hajime finally spoke up, "Well, I guess we're done with that then. Should we move on?"

Ichiko sighed, "I felt completely useless. If we meet another rebel, I vote that Hajime and I get to take them alone." She began running towards the battle again with the other five following closely behind.

However, they never met another rebel to battle. It seemed that they had all been either killed or imprisoned already. The remaining Fire Nation soldiers had gathered around the only two battles still taking place. Even some of the rebel prisoners were being permitted to watch as their Fire Lord and the Avatar fought their old oppressor and their Fire Lady and Ty Lee fought their former princess. No one so much as attempted to step in and help. They stood and watched, almost as if they were entranced by the powerful skills they were seeing in front of them.

**XX**

Azula glared at the two traitors that stood in front of her defeated form. This whole situation felt just like the last time she'd lost twenty years ago. Only, it seemed to be worse this time around. Maybe it was because this time the two people who stood before her had once been her friends. At least, they'd been the closest things to friends Azula had ever had. She'd treated them horribly, but she was the Princess of the Fire Nation. She couldn't help it if she was better than they were.

Azula had been hoping to fight them this time. She wanted to make them regret betraying her. She internally cursed herself for ending up so vulnerable, again. Her mind quickly ran through strategies and attacks, but she couldn't think of one for her current predicament. As Mai and Ty Lee began closing in on her, Azula's thoughts became even more frantic. They were less than a second away from reaching her when Azula completely began to panic. It was almost as if she couldn't control herself. Fire burst from her mouth, and tears began to flow from her eyes. She didn't dare look her two old friends in the face. She was ashamed. She'd let it happen again! It was the second time Azula had been absolutely humiliated, and this time there had been even more people there to witness it. Yet again, Azula had failed the one person she'd tried pleasing her whole life: Ozai.

**XX**

When Zuko had made his way back over to Aang and his father, he found Aang in a bit of a predicament. Ozai was surprisingly good at fighting without bending and with his feet frozen to the ground. Zuko shot a blast of flames toward Ozai before Ozai had even realized his son's return. Ozai felt the heat behind him and managed to dodge the fire at the last minute. He turned his head to see his son running towards him again. His ever-present smirk widened. Ozai always loved the chance to fight and humiliate his first-born.

Ozai held his knife over his head as soon as Zuko was within reaching distance. In his anger, Zuko paid no attention to the knife. It was seconds from entering Zuko's flesh when a blast of air send it flying. Zuko looked behind him to see Aang in an air bending stance. There wasn't much time for words at the moment, so he made a mental note to thank Aang later. Ozai quickly recovered from the lose of his one weapon and grabbed Zuko by the arm. Before Zuko could react, Ozai had his arms pinned to his side, rendering them near useless for fire bending, but Aang was quick to react.

Ozai was soon knocked backwards by a strong gust of wind. His body bent at a weird angle with his frozen feet making it impossible to lay flat. Before Ozai could even attempt to right himself, Aang earth bent his arms to the ground as well. Ozai was now completely defenseless. The ex-Fire Lord's position eerily reminded Aang of the man's last defeat over twenty years ago.

Aang and Zuko, who hadn't been aware of the crowd of people surrounding them, turned in shock to see everyone cheering at Ozai's second defeat. As Mai came running towards her husband, Zuko saw that Azula had also been defeated for the second time. He gripped his wife tightly as soon as she was by his side. Before long, his daughter was also in his embrace. It took a few minutes before he realized that she wasn't even supposed to be there.

"How did you get out here!" Zuko exclaimed suddenly as he held his daughter at arm's length.

Mai also scrutinized her daughter as Ai looked sheepishly at her parents. "We kind of crawled through an air vent."

Zuko sighed and glanced around at the celebrating crowd. He decided he could wait to discuss a punishment until tomorrow at least. Zuko and Mai found the other adults also questioning their children. There seemed to be a mutual consent to not worry about it until further notice. The crowd began to part as the group made their way back to the underground bunker.

Upon their arrival, they discovered Haruki and several others still standing guard at the entrance. Haruki seemed startled to see Ai and the other teens with the adults. He glanced quickly at the door as though expecting to see it open or maybe a large hole that they'd blasted through it without his noticing. "Wha-What?" Haruki stammered.

Ai smirked at her boyfriend. All she said was, "Air vent." Haruki hung his head in shame, feeling like he'd failed the Fire Lord.

"I'm sorry, sir," Haruki addressed Zuko's feet, "I failed you and the Fire Nation. I promised I'd keep them safe, and I wasn't able to. I deserve to be punished." To further show his regret, Haruki knelt before Zuko on the ground. Zuko's friends and family chuckled a little upon seeing all of this, and Zuko felt a blush spreading across his face. He didn't look like such a powerful Fire Lord at the moment.

"Haruki," Zuko addressed his daughter's boyfriend in an attempt to end his embarrassment as quickly as possible. "That's really not necessary. I'm not my father. I know it wasn't your fault, and no one was hurt. You're not going to be punished." He paused a moment before adding in a whisper, "And please get off the ground before someone else sees you. My friends are already going to mock me about this for a long time."

"Sorry, sir," Haruki said as he hastily stood up. At the sound of yet another apology from the boy, Zuko felt a slight shudder run through his body.

Zuko's prediction proved to be true soon enough. As the made their way back to the palace, Toph fell in step beside him. His other old friends following close behind. The children had fallen behind a bit as they discussed things they obviously preferred the adults didn't hear. Zuko glanced over at Toph only to see her looking at him with a smirk on her face. He knew what was coming and groaned. "Toph," he said exasperated, "Can you please not make fun of me today. Let's just be happy everything's finally over, please?"

Toph shrugged her shoulders and stepped back to walk beside Sokka. "You're safe for now, Mr. Fire Lord, but I can only guarantee you twenty-four hours. My self-control to mock such an easy target can't last longer than that."

Zuko outwardly sighed, but inside he was smiling at his old friend. "Thanks, Toph. What would I do without you?"

"Live a dull and uninteresting life," Toph smirked. The others all chuckled in agreement.

Meanwhile, the children were having a conversation of their own as they trailed behind their parents.

"Do you think they'll be locked up for good this time?" Nori asked.

"I hope so," Kazuna told her little sister. "This has been enough fighting to last me a lifetime."

"What are you talking about?" Ichiko asked her best friend in shock, "This past week or so has been the most exciting of my life!"

Ai rolled her eyes, "You have the worst definition of exciting, Ichiko. I'd much rather do exciting things that don't involve almost dying."

Ichiko just shrugged her shoulders. "What's life without a few near death experiences?"

Hajime laughed at his girlfriend as he put his arm around her shoulders. "I think we've had enough near death experiences to last us a decade or two."

"You guys have no sense of adventure," Ichiko sighed as they continued towards the palace. Her friends just shook their heads, all agreeing that she was out of her mind. If Ichiko had seen it, they would have all received the evil eye, but thankfully, she didn't seem to notice. Hopefully, Ichiko's temper would be the closest any of them would get to danger in quite a while.

**Author's Note: I hope you all enjoyed the last chapter of Avatar: The Next Generation! I'll have the epilogue up as soon as possible. I hope to begin working on it tonight or tomorrow.**


	24. Epilogue

Epilogue

_Three Years After_

Ai was looking into the full-length mirror with a look of wonder on her face. Her three best friends stood around her, each with beaming smiles on their faces as they looked at her. She was dressed in traditional Fire Nation robes for her wedding day.

Her wedding day. She couldn't believe they were finally getting married. They'd been dating for three years, but it still seemed like they'd met yesterday to her. Her marrying a commoner had created quite a stir among the Fire Nation citizens, especially the older, more traditional ones. Ai was surprised at how well her future husband was taking his transition into royalty. He would make a wonderful prince.

"Are you ready?" Ayame asked. Ai could just feel the excitement in her friend's voice even if it was no where close to matching her own.

"Yes," Ai said in a determined voice. She was set on making it through the ceremony without puking. So far, that was proving to be a tough task. She grabbed for Ayame and Kazuna's hands as she walked towards the door but avoided touching Ichiko's hand. Ichiko wasn't very touchy-feely, and Ai would rather not have any broken bones on her wedding day. Nonetheless, Ichiko offered her friend a genuine smile that was for once not related to someone being in pain. Then again, Ichiko probably did consider Ai's position painful. She'd never been the romantic type.

As a Ai walked down the hallway towards the large room filled with her family, friends, and various "important people" from around the world, she was relieved to have her three best friends beside her. Without them, she'd probably be back in her room panicking about what she was about to do. At the end of the hallway, she found her father standing outside of a large set of doors. He smiled at her, and although panic washed over her at the thought of walking through the intimidating doorway, she found herself smiling back. She wrapped her arms around his middle and squeezed as tightly as she could. "I love you, Daddy," she whispered as he hugged her tightly.

"I love you too, sweetheart. Now, let's get you up that aisle." Ai opened her eyes and pulled away from Zuko to see that her best friends had already started the journey through the crowd. She smiled at her father one last time as she took his arm and started towards her future husband.

_7 Years After_

"I look stupid," Ichiko grumbled as she stood next to Ayame. Both were in the traditional wedding dress of a Kiyoshi warrior. It was a lot like their normal uniforms except a little fancier...and girlier. This explained why Ichiko was so uncomfortable. Ayame was sure this was Ichiko's first time ever getting this dressed up.

"You're getting married in just a few minutes," Ayame told her soon-to-be sister-in-law, "At least pretend to be excited. She shook her head in exasperation at the death glare she received.

"At least you're not as nervous as I was," Ai spoke up from her spot next to Kazuna.

"This is why I'm glad Kazuna is my maid of honor," Ichiko muttered, "She doesn't say things in a pathetic attempt to cheer me up." This time, Ai was the one glaring. She decided that Ichiko was dealing with her nerves by becoming even crabbier than usual, and decided to keep her mouth shut.

"Just shut up and get moving!" Ayame snapped, "I'd like to get married sometime today!"

Ichiko's face showed a brief glimpse of what could have been fear before she moved calmly towards the door. She stopped when she felt something being put into her hand. Looking down, she noticed a white handkerchief. "You may need it," Kazuna told her quietly. Ichiko scoffed at her best friend and remarked that only sappy people cried at weddings. Later, Ichiko returned the soaking wet handkerchief in embarrassment.

_10 Years After_

Kazuna squealed in delight as she and Ai jumped off the zeppelin and ran towards their two best friends. They were coming from the Fire Nation where Kazuna had been staying for a few weeks. Ai had decided to accompany them on the return trip in order to surprise Ichiko and Ayame on Kiyoshi Island. Unfortunately, they'd been unable to control their excitement, and the plan slipped out in their letters long before they'd arrived. "I have such exciting news!" Kazuna exclaimed as she finally let go of Ichiko. She glanced conspiratorially at Ai, who was already in on the secret.

"Let me guess," Ichiko said, "You're finally getting married."

Kazuna looked at her in shock. "How can you possibly know that already!"

Ichiko's eyes did their usual rolling motion. "For starters, you two have been dating long enough. It was bound to happen sometime. Secondly," she paused briefly to smirk at Kazuna, "you're just as bad at keeping secrets in letters as you are in person."

Kazuna blushed, "I guess the surprise is ruined."

"Not completely," Ai smirked, "You still haven't told Ichiko the best news."

Another smile found it's way to Kazuna's face. "Oh yeah, I almost forgot! I want you to be my maid of honor, of course, and I've been giving a lot of thought about the bridesmaids dresses. I've decided to go with hot pink." Kazuna, Ai, and Ayame burst into laughter at the horrified look on Ichiko's face.

_14 Years After_

Kazuna beamed down at her friends. She'd been close to bursting for days in anticipation of sharing the great news with them. She'd sent out letters to each of them a week ago, asking for them to come visit her in the Southern Water Tribe, and they'd only just arrived. Before she could speak, however, Ichiko said loudly, "Let me guess, you're pregnant."

Kazuna visibly wilted. Then anger seemed to build up inside her. "Why must you always do that!" she exclaimed. Ichiko's ability to read her like a book got really annoying at times like these.

Ichiko just smirked and leaned back in her chair as she muttered, "Congratulations, Kazuna." Her tone of voice didn't match her words. She sounded as if it was of no real importance to her whether Kazuna had children or not. Kazuna knew that Ichiko really did care, even if she didn't wish to show it, and that was enough. "At least now you can come along on those stupid 'play dates' Ayame always sets up when we're all together," Ichiko continued as she sunk back in her seat and crossed her arms.

"They are not stupid," Ayame defended, "The play dates are an excellent opportunity for our children to have fun and become just as good of friends as we are!"

"But why do we need to plan them," Ichiko said in exasperation, "Why can't we just say, 'Go do whatever you want,' and be done with it?"

"You don't understand the importance of an official play date," Ayame sniffed as Ichiko mocked her quietly.

Kazuna glanced at Ai, and they both stifled giggles. Some things never change.

_18 Years After_

Kazuna glanced around the crowded party in an effort to find her closest friends. She'd left the children with their grandparents. Katara and Aang were always happy to take them off her hands for a bit, and the children loved them. She was hoping to find Ichiko, Ai, and Ayame, so they could go somewhere to talk, just the four of them. It had been a while since the four of them had been in the same place at the same time and didn't have kids hanging off of them. Besides, Kazuna had never been one for parties anyway, so she would use any opportunity she could to escape.

After a few minutes, she spotted Ichiko and Ai conversing next to a long table with a wide array of different foods laid out across it. Ichiko was munching on some type of meat, while Ai surveyed the room. Ai smiled as she caught Kazuna's eye and motioned for her to join them. After a couple of brief hugs and greetings, Kazuna asked if they'd seen Ayame.

"She was here a few minutes ago, but ran off without much of an explanation," Ai said, once again glancing around the room, "You know how she is. She'll show up again and explain herself."

Sure enough, Ayame emerged out of the crowd ten minutes later. "Where have you been?" Ichiko asked before sticking a grape in her mouth.

"I needed to check my makeup." As soon as she said the words, Ichiko's eyes rolled and Ai and Kazuna shook their heads in exasperation.

After catching up about things such as their husbands, children, and life in general, the subject somehow turned to the past.

"Can you believe how long it's been since we were kids?" Ai asked as she glanced wistfully around the Fire Nation palace's courtyard that they had spent so much time in when younger. "We have so many memories of the four of us in the palace, even at Kiyoshi Island, the South Pole, or the Air Temple. It's so weird thinking back on all of that and to realize how much has changed."

After letting out a burp, Ichiko speaks up, "Things haven't changed that much." She laughs, and the others join in.

"I guess that's true. Some things will probably never change," Ai laughed.

**Author's Note: Wow, I don't really know what to say now that this is over. I started writing this almost three years ago. It's crazy to go back and read the earlier chapters because I think it's obvious how much my writing style has changed throughout the years. Hopefully, it was for the better, but I'm not really an accurate judge.**

**I want to think every single person who ever read this, and I especially want to think the people who reviewed. Every single review made me happy to read it. I love hearing what people say about this story and my writing.**

**My profile will probably stay quiet for a while. Now that this is finished, I'm going to be working on a piece of original fiction that I kind of put on the back burner in order to get this done. If you're reading this on my writing blog, you guys may be seeing some teasers for that story on there, but it will be a while before you get to actually read it. Once it's done, I'll do one of two things. The first option is post all of it on my writing blog and my Fictionpress account. However, if I think it's good enough, I may attempt to get it published. The second option has about a .000000000000000000000001% chance of happening, so I'd be looking for it on the blog or Fictionpress.**

**As for fanfiction, after finishing my original story, I plan to write a series of Hunger Games one-shots for the 100 themes challenge (if you want to know more about that, message me and I'll give you the link). I'm definitely not giving up on fanfiction. I don't know when I'll write another Avatar fanfiction though. I'll probably get sentimental at some point and post a one-shot or two that ties into this story. If I do, it'll be posted on with the other one-shots and on my writing blog. If anyone has any ideas for a one-shot set in this story's universe that you want me to write, please let me know, and I'll probably write it.**

**I need to stop writing this author's note before it becomes longer than the epilogue itself. I hope all of you guys had as fun a time reading the story as I did writing it, and I look forward to reading your reviews. Thank you so much!**


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